Editor’s Note by Brian Kevin
The thing about the Great Maine Scavenger Hunt is that, in its first year, we never anticipated more than a handful of readers would try to complete it. It was mostly a fun device to liven up a stalwart summer-planner feature: check out these 40 Maine events and activities we love — can you imagine if you went and did all of them? Then, in 2017, a couple dozen readers actually went and did all of them, and we were blown away by their sense of adventure. Last summer, the number of Great Maine Scavenger Hunt completists nearly doubled. You can read a few of their stories from the hunt beginning on page 46.
The scavenger hunt’s mechanics involve the ubiquitous modern-day phenomenon of the selfie — which I’ve found myself taking plenty of as a dad. As the guidelines on page 68 explain, scavenger hunters upload selfies to our online portal to show us all the places they’ve been, trails they’ve hiked, lobsters they’ve eaten, vats of mashed potatoes in which they’ve wrestled, etc. Watching these selfies roll in is one of the highlights of summer at Down East HQ. A fair amount are accompanied by comments from scavenger hunters telling us they’d never have discovered this trail, ferried to that island, or attended this festival if they hadn’t had our participatory vacation planner egging them on.
I can’t tell you how good it feels to read that. Living in Maine often means navigating the tension between wanting to share as much of the state as possible and wanting to keep it to yourself. When you’re flipping through snapshots of happy face after happy face in front of stunning Maine backdrops, that choice — at least right then — feels remarkably easy.
Brian Kevin
Editor in chief
bkevin@downeast.com.
Features
The 2019 Great Maine Scavenger Hunt
From mashed-potato wrestling to candlepin bowling to picking up litter (in a beautiful setting, of course), let our third annual scavenger hunt be your guide to summer in Maine.
Outdoors
Down rivers, up mountains, leaping from a dock —get a new perspective on the state.
Food & Drink
From a mustard museum to a sea-salt harvesting operation to a family- and dog-friendly brewery.
History
Explore the past at a Civil War general’s home, a Native American archaeological site, and the vestige of a war that wasn’t.
Arts & Artisans
Seek inspiration at a performance festival, an art show, even a parking lot.
Doing Good
Did you know helping others feeds adventurous spirits like yours?
Family
Quarry swimming, beach fireworks, friendly farm animals — what’s not for families to love?
Landmarks
Cross a covered bridge, live the good life, and paddle past a castle.
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Special Advertising Section: ART
We asked 10 art-world luminaries to share the under-the-radar places where they find great Maine art.
By Jennifer Van Allen
Departments
North by East
Navigating between faith and purpose in Pemaquid, Captain Marvel’s Harpswell roots, Belfast’s multi-genre music festival, and a Katahdin-region guide for kids. Plus, a wrestling milestone in Maine Dispatches.
Food and Drink
We nosh on C. Love Cookies, drop in on old-meets-new diner Flux in Lisbon Falls, and whip up a classic pasta dinner. Plus, a local weatherman’s hot sauce and avant-garde ingredients for chefs and home cooks.
Good Things from Maine
Hunting for tourmaline (and rare, ugly rocks) in the Oxford Hills, and Julie Moringello’s geometric lamps. Plus, introducing Maine Street Style: wicked-individual fashion from around the state.
Maine Homes
A home designed for efficiency and easy care and another round of our antiques roadshow. Plus, cold-loving veggies for your garden.
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Where in Maine
Maine Moment
Dooryard
Editor’s note, reader feedback, responses to March’s Where in Maine, and more.
Columns
My Maine: Tales of the Hunt; Talk of Maine: No Elder an Island; Room With a View.
My Favorite Place
Veep’s Timothy Simons on his favorite bookstore, Hello Hello Books in Rockland.
On the cover: Biscay Pond, Pemaquid Peninsula, by Cara Dolan.
Cara Dolan
South Portland photographer Cara Dolan shot this month’s cover photo a couple of summers back, at the family camp on Biscay Pond, on the Pemaquid Peninsula. It’s a tableau many readers will recognize, with Dolan’s then-11-year-old son, Sid, sitting alongside the family’s then-6-month-old English setter, Sunny, just drinking in the companionship and the summer day. “We found the entire experience of ‘puppydom’ to be pretty chaotic,” Dolan says, “but this kind of boy-and-his-dog moment was exactly what I had envisioned and hoped for when we first got her.” Two years later, Dolan says, the family still hasn’t convinced Sunny to jump off the dock. Follow Dolan on Instagram at instagram.com/caratheterror.
Additional photos: Andre Albert; Derek Bissonnette; Jamie Walter; Seth Gaffar.