WRITTEN BY JUDY HARRISON
Downtown Bangor has more to offer than offices, pubs, restaurants, retail shops, living quarters, and the mighty Penobscot River. It also is the Queen City’s hub for arts and culture.
This summer, the Downtown Bangor Partnership will be promoting the organizations and shops that showcase the visual and performing arts through the Bangor Culture and Arts Collective. Its website is divided into six sections – the Performing Arts, Museums and Galleries, History and Culture, Public Art, Concerts and Live Music, and Just for Kids.
Each category includes non-profit groups such as the Penobscot Theater Company, the Maine Discovery Museum, and Zillman Art Museum, as well as for-profit businesses such as Sohns Gallery located in the Rock and Art Shop on Central Street. The History and Culture section lists not only the Bangor Historical Society, but Mount Hope Cemetery and the Stephen King Tours as well. It also includes a map of all the public art downtown.
In addition to promoting Bangor as a center for arts and culture, the partnership will sponsor a Sidewalk Art Festival on July 6 with 100 artists, a Summer Solstice Garden Party in June, and an outdoor market on the waterfront once a month in June, July, and August. The Bangor Waterfront Outdoor Market will be organized by the Maine Micro Artisans, which is located at the Bangor Mall and the Maine Mall in Portland. The group is made up of 175 artists. The event also will include food trucks and live music.
The events are designed to bring residents and visitors into the heart of the Queen City during Maine’s friendliest season weatherwise, according to Betsy Lundy, executive director of the Partnership.
“We expect these events will bring people downtown where they will visit the shops, dine in one of the 40 restaurants, and make a day of it,” she said.
Bangor is expected to welcome more visitors this year from the American Cruise Lines’ eight-day Downeast tour that begins and ends in Bangor. A ship carrying 100 passengers is scheduled to dock on the Penobscot River 11 times this summer.
The Gran Fondo Hincapie bike race will return this summer on June 22. It begins and ends in Bangor and features routes of 15, 52, or 80 miles through the region’s rolling hills, open countryside, and coastal villages. Last year’s event drew 600 riders.
“Downtown Bangor Partnership promotes and markets activities that enhance the distinctive identity of Downtown Bangor, which encourages retention and growth of commercial, residential, and cultural life within the downtown district,” according to its website.
Dates:
June 15 – Bangor Waterfront Outdoor Market
June 20 – Summer Solstice Garden Party
June 22 – Gran Fondo Hincapie Bike Race
July 4 – Parade
July 6 – Sidewalk Art Festival presented by Bangor Savings Bank
July 15 – Bangor Waterfront Outdoor Market
August 17 – Bangor Waterfront Outdoor Market
