Contest winners make competition a win for local charities

Portland, Maine – July 29th, 2010

Three local charities were the beneficiaries of filmmaker innovation as a result of the 7DAYPSA competition hosted by The Maine Film Collaborative at The Maine Studios. For this contest agency teams had seven days to write and produce public service announcements for three charities. The Maine Women’s Fund, Planet Dog Foundation and Dream Factory all received the benefit of the teams’ creativity.

“This was a great opportunity for filmmakers to not only to help charities but also to hone their production skills.” Expressed local competition organizer, Krystal Kenville. “As I expected, our Maine teams made some amazing productions. We can all be very proud of their work.” said Kenville.

Awards were presented to agency teams at the end of June in recognition of production components including; Writing, Editing, Direction, Cinematography, Animation, Acting and Voice-Over. Additionally, an overall award for Best Public Service Announce was awarded to Team Hurf Durf for their production More Than Just Friend’s. Teams Man-Like-Machines and Unicovia Pictures also received awards for their productions.

Prizes Awarded:
Best 7DAYPSA : The Hurf Durf’s for Planet Dog
2nd Place 7DAYPSA: Man-Like-Machines for The Dream Factory
3rd Place 7DAYPSA: Unicovia Pictures for The Maine Woman’s Fund

Other Awards included:

Final Draft Best Writing Award: George Dalphin / Man-Like-Machines
Best Editing: John P. M. Higgins / The Hurf Durf’s
Best Director: Tim Lazimov / The Hurf Durf’s
Best Cinematography: Ahura Z. Dilliza / Unicovia Pictures
Best Animation: John P. M. Higgins / The Hurf Durf’s
Best Actor Award: Laura Jay / Unicovia Pictures
Best Voice Over: John E. Seymore / The Hurf Durf’s

Team Hurf Durf’s production has also been submitted for The Hatch Awards a national competition with awards to be determined in October.

The 7DAYPSA competition was created by Duncan B. Putney, a writer and creative producer with Original Concept & Development Associates in Rhode Island. The first contest was part of the Flickers Creative Impulse Award competition at the Rhode Island Independent Film Festival. Future competitions are slated for New Hampshire and Boston for later this year.

The Maine event was hosted by the Maine Film Collaborative. Sponsors included Portland Color, Sebago Brewing Company, The Asylum, Binga’s Stadium, Local Sprouts and the Portland Press Herald.

This year’s shirt will again feature a work by local artist Linda Norton. The image – “Furled Mizzen, Angelique”- shows a sunset glowing against a tanbark sail.

Watercolorist Norton relocated in July 2000 to the maternal family home in Camden. Her grandfather, Horace Leadbetter, a lifetime resident of Camden, was from generations of seafaring men dating back to his ancestors settling on Vinalhaven Island in 1769.

“The coast of Maine is in my blood, I love the sea and salt air. The Schooners, Trawlers and Lobster boats and the inherent beauty and power of the sea.” says Linda. “Opening my studio and gallery in the barn where my grandfather worked is an exciting challenge”.

The Sea Street Graphics-produced t-shirts will go on sale from the Friday afternoon of the festival, held each year over Labor Day weekend along Camden’s waterfront.
More information on the Camden Windjammer Festival can be found at www.camdenwindjammerfestival.com

Major sponsorship is being provided by Down East Magazine, Camden National Bank, Wayfarer Marine, Cellardoor Winery, The Allen Agency, The First and the Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber of Commerce.

The Camden Windjammer Festival is a community-led celebration of Camden’s maritime heritage and living traditions. The Festival was established recognize and celebrate the important role of the windjammer fleet and the role the Midcoast region’s maritime heritage continues to play in shaping the lives of all residents.

The Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit membership association that serves businesses and organizations from 54 towns and seven states who actively seek to support business and community in the Camden Hills region of Maine.

Some of Maine’s best-known musicians will perform at concerts that people can attend for free, and artisans will ply their trades at a Maritime Heritage Fair. These tradespeople include boat builders, blacksmiths, coopers, sail makers, blacksmiths and fishermen. Performers will stage a “pirate attack” on the town.

“When the schooners enter this harbor that’s framed by mountains, it’s amazing to see,” said Meg Maiden, Maine Windjammer Association marketing director. “The windjammers are powered primarily by sail and have no engines; most are designated National Historic Landmarks.”

What: Camden Windjammer Festival 2010

When: Sept. 3-5, 2010

Highlights: Schooners arrival; music (including Gordon Bok and Paranoid Social Club); Maritime Heritage Fair; Pirates of the Dark Rose attack; fireworks display; lobster crate and R/C boat races; schooner-crew talent show; all-comers boat parade.

Full Schedule: Available online at www.camdenwindjammerfestival.com/events

Each year, thousands of people from different parts of the country and some international locations attend this end-of-summer event. Camden has been celebrating its maritime heritage each Labor Day Weekend since the mid-1990s.

“It’s an authentic experience,” Maiden said. “The skills that the captains display have been passed down through the generations. All of them have worked their way up on sailing vessels.”

The schooners will host open houses, where visitors will be able to tour the schooners at no cost and learn about the tradition these windjammers represent. In the mid-1800s, ship builders regularly launched schooners into Camden Harbor, and for decades, Camden served as home port for cargo-carrying vessels that traveled to locales such as those in the West Indies.

Camden also is the birthplace of recreational schooner trips, with vessels beginning to carry passengers in the 1930s. Today, Camden remains home port to a dozen schooners, and these majestic sailing ships continue to offer trips where passengers can contribute to the sailing of the big ships, experience life on a windjammer, enjoy the stunning scenery and participate in activities such as lobster bakes.

On shore, the Heritage Fair also will offer free educational and fun activities to visitors.

“The whole impulse around this is activity and not just static displays,” said Bridget Qualey, chair of the Maritime Heritage Fair committee. “It takes people back into their memories and family recollections. It allows visitors to ask questions and learn new things.”

Contemporary Maine culture also will be on display, with free activities such as the performance of Maine’s premier rock band, Paranoid Social Club, on Saturday evening, and a closing performance Sunday by legendary Maine folk artist Gordon Bok.

“We call him the voice of the sea,” said John Orlando, the festival’s entertainment chair. “He’s a Maine native and loves sailing.”

Most events are free for those who attend. More information about the festival and the Camden’s maritime heritage is available online at www.camdenwindjammerfestival.com.

Founded in 1939, the Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber currently serves businesses and organizations from 54 towns and seven states who actively seek to support business and community in the Camden Hills region of Maine.

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On Saturday, August 7, 2010 – Infinity Farm in Dover-Foxcroft is hosting its First Annual Barn Dance Extravaganza on August 7th between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. This is sure to be tons of fun for the whole family – there will be music by New Relm between 4-6 p.m., a barbeque, line dancing instruction and country western music, calf-roping demonstrations, horses and riders performing to music, a silent auction, a 50/50 raffle, free riding giveaways ,and games with prizes just for the kids. The event is also a fundraiser for a locally formed charity “Hoofs-n-Hearts” – developed by two compassionate teenagers to raise money for transportation costs for those needing ongoing medical treatment for cancer.

They have taken an oath to: Keep a Caring Heart, Good Academics,
Respectful of Others, Become Active Volunteers in their Community
and Participate in Caring for Cancer Patients and their Families.
A large part of the profits created will go to purchasing complimentary
gas cards to help Cancer Patients cover the tremendous cost of travel it takes to get to their treatments. These Complimentary Gas Cards will be delivered each month to Cancer Care of Maine and Mayo Regional Hospital by the Hoofs-n-Heart Kids and handed out to patients.

Location is Infinity Farm, 11 Mack Hill (rte 15 in Dover to Bear Hill Road to end) Admission is $15 for individuals or $25 for families. For advance tickets you may contact gail at gail@infinityfarm.us or diane at dmrosell@aol.com.

      While you are enjoying ‘hanging out’ in a reproduction of your favorite drug store, you will also be treated to historic memorabilia displays of Kiwanis Minstrel Shows, Foxcroft Academy Basketball Events, School Plays, a slideshow presentation highlighting Central Hall’s past and future, along with guided tours of this grand old building.  You will have an opportunity to go on stage, see the old curtain which has been resurrected, view “the Wall” which just might contain your signature and maybe even toss a ball into the old hoop.

        Come share your memories of Central Hall with your friends, neighbors, family, and alumni and join the efforts of community members to remember why we are all working hard to preserve this historic Dover-Foxcroft landmark.

         Admission is free, and donations will be accepted.  Check us out on Facebook - 

Participants share a freeing vocal experience, liberating the voice and building community through spontaneous vocal exploration. ImproVox members guide participants every step of the way during this exciting vocal journey.

Wear flexible, comfortable layered clothing, thick socks or slippers, bring water and simple snacks to share if you wish. Also, please avoid wearing strong perfumes, as some of the singers are allergic to them.

The cost for the workshop is just $40 which may be purchased on our web site hutchinshall.org or call 717-6476 as space is limited.

Hutchins Hall is located at 21 Pleasant St. (the old UU Church). Tickets for live performances are $10 and Open Mic nights are by donation. You can purchase tickets at Rumbling Falls, 21 East Main Street, Dover-Foxcroft, or at Bob’s Home, Garden and Health Food Store on Lincoln St. in Dover-Foxcroft. You can also buy tickets through PAYPAL at www.hutchinshall.org. A portion of the proceeds from each live performance will be donated to a local charity.
 
For more information, call Lauralyn Buie at 717-6476 or at lbjambuie@gmail.com or on Facebook at Hutchins Hall Art Center or visit our web site at hutchinshall.org

First Annual Portland Improvisational Comedy Festival Scheduled for August 5th – 7th, 2010

PORTLAND, MAINE July 16, 2010 – The funniest people in Maine are organizing the first annual Portland Improv Comedy Festival this summer. Every major city has one and Maine needs to be recognized for its Improv Comedy as well.

Improvisational Comedy is a fast-growing form of entertainment in which the performers make up comedy scenes and sketches based primarily on suggestions and interactions with the audience. The performances are not scripted and cause the comedians to create dialog, setting, characters and plot “on the spot.”

Nine Improv groups, including The Escapists, Running With Scissors, Portland Improv Experience and Stranger than Fiction have joined together to form a wonderful three-night event hosted at the St. Lawerence Theater on Munjoy Hill. “This is a fun and FUNNY way to support the local economy,” says Rachel Flehinger, one of the organizers of the event. “This year is just the beginning. In years to come this festival can bring national attention and tourism to our state.”

The festival is made possible through the contributions of local businesses and organizations committed to promoting the Comedy and Arts community of Greater Portland. The Festival will have events August 5th, 6th and 7th at 8 pm. Tickets cost $10 in advance, $12 at the door, and $25 for a three-day pass. Group rates are available at $8 (groups 10+, reservations must be in advance.)

About Portland Improv Festival

The Portland Improv Festival is a three-night event organized by the comedy community of Greater Portland. The Festival strives to not only bring out the best and brightest local stars of Improvisational Comedy but also build an awareness of this innovative and engaging form of comedy.

For more information on the Portland Improv Festival, or this particular news angle, please contact Rachel Flehinger by phone or email.

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Contact Information:

Rachel Flehinger
Festival Organizer
Portland Improv Fest
Phone: (207) 318-6348
Email: portlandimprovfest@gmail.com
Web: http://portlandimprovfest.weebly.com

Highlights of the season include an Opening Night concert August 12th focusing on chamber music with harp and featuring Bridget Kibbey, winner of a 2004 Avery Fisher Career Grant. Featured repertoire later in the season includes what Artistic Co-Director Jennifer Elowitch describes as the “arguably underappreciated” Dohnanyi Piano Quintet in C minor, the Loeffler Two Rhapsodies for oboe, viola and piano, and the Prokofiev Quintet for oboe, clarinet, violin, viola and bass. Beloved masterpieces include the Mozart Clarinet Quintet, the Schumann Piano Quartet, and the Dvorak String Sextet.

The festival has twice been awarded grants from the Aaron Copland Fund for its commitment to new American music. Grammy-winning composer Chen Yi’s August 14th appearance includes an onstage interview with Maine public radio host Suzanne Nance and a performance of Happy Rain on a Spring Night for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano. Other featured composers for 2010 include Dan Sonenberg and Andrew List, who will be in attendance to introduce their works.

PCMF’s annual Free Children’s Concert — August 15th at noon — includes a performance of Karim Al-Zand’s “Red Pajamas” narrated by Suzanne Nance. For the first time, the event also includes pre-concert play activities in the lobby hosted by the Peekaboo Children’s Center.

PCMF’s 2010 returning performers include cellist Marc Johnson, recently retired cellist of the Vermeer Quartet; cellist Natasha Brofsky of the Peabody Trio and the New England Conservatory faculty; renowned oboist Peggy Pearson of Emmanuel Music and Winsor Music; flutist Elizabeth Mann of the Orpheus Ensemble and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s; and Jonathan Vinocour, the new Principal Viola of the San Francisco Symphony. New to the festival will be violinist and contemporary music advocate Miranda Cuckson and cellist Ronald Feldman, conductor of the orchestra at Williams College.

Wright Express is the Premiere Corporate Underwriter for the 2010 Portland Chamber Music Festival. The festival’s Media Sponsor is the Maine Public Broadcasting Network.
PCMF2010Poster3

For Immediate Release

Portland, Maine – A new Portland company, CouponEvolution.com, has taken the clipping out of coupons.

CouponEvolution.com launched on Thursday, July 8, allowing consumers to search deals in Maine and New Hampshire. Unlike many other coupon websites, CouponEvolution.com features coupons from locally owned and area businesses. The website can be accessed directly from a desktop computer or any internet-capable mobile device.  Each interactive coupon features buttons that allow the consumer to print, email, text, or share on Twitter or Facebook. A Google Maps icon also links directly to each business location for easy access to directions.

The evolutionary feature of CouponEvolution.com is how they have changed the way that coupons are redeemed. Consumers simply send a deal they like from CouponEvolution.com via text message to themselves, or a friend, and present the coupon on their mobile device at the business to redeem the coupon.

For more information, please contact Jason Dye at jdye@couponevolution.com, or via phone 207-370-6013 ext. 501, or visit www.couponevolution.com.

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