Upcoming Events

Thursday, August 16
ArtWaves MDI Presents: Ink, Watercolor & Wax on Rice Paper
9:30AM or 1PM: Working with ink, wax. and watercolor on delicate rice paper, students will learn and practice the techniques of painting in batik style. No experience is required. Click here for more info and to register.

Thursday, August 16
Seal Cove Auto Museum Presents: Demo Day
10AM - 4PM: On the third Thursday of each month, one of the vehicles in the Seal Cove Auto Museum’s collection will be featured, with presentations and discussion by the Museum’s curators and additional related object and documents shared. Scheduled talks at 11am & 2pm. Rides in antique autos offered, weather permitting. Free with admission. 244-9242

Thursday, August 16
Bass Harbor Memorial Library Presents: Author event: Jefferson Navicky & Candice Stover
6 - 7:30PM: Authors Jefferson Navicky and Candice Stover will be at the library on Thursday August 16 to read, answer questions and sign their books. Navicky is the author of the recently published short story collection "The Paper Coast." Poet Candice Stover is a Maine native who lives in Somesville and is currently an adjunct faculty member at the College of the Atlantic. Click for more info.

Thursday, August 16
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: Shakespeare by the Sea with Acadia Community Theater and the Barn Arts Collective
6:30PM: Come to a concert version of the original music written for "Shakespeare By the Sea", a collaboration between Acadia Community Theater and the Barn Arts Collective. Composers Andrew Lynch and Brittany Parker will share the original music they wrote for the Barn Arts' adaptations of Shakespeare's The Tempest and Twelfth Night. 244-7065

Thursday, August 16
Claremont Hotel Lecture Series: Over There and Down Home: Mainers and World War I
8:15 PM in the Clarkpoint Room. Angela Goebel-Bain: Curator of Historical Collections, Maine State Museum. "I am thrilled to have returned to New England to take the position of Curator of Historical Collections at the Maine State Museum." Information available at 244-5036. Parking is reserved for hotel guests. Please use parking at the end of Claremont Road.

Friday, August 17
Camp Beech Cliff Presents: Circus Super Star
5-8PM: Don't miss MDI's only circus performance. Acrobatic Stunts! Juggling! Aerials! Comedy! And more! Come experience Circus Superstar by the professionals from CirqOvation. Tickets will be available by donation at the door. Gates open at 5pm. Show starts at 6pm. Food and drink available for purchase. Suggested donation: $5.00 for individuals / $15.00 for families.

Saturday, August 18
Seal Cove Auto Museum Presents: Tom Cutter, "Barn Find Hunter" & Author
10AM - 4PM: Tom Cotter, author and Hagerty’s Barn Find Hunter, will be at the museum for the day with his Cunningham C-3. He will have some of his books available and video as well. For more information, call 244-9242

Saturday, August 18
ArtWaves MDI Presents: Raku Workshop with Roberta & Alan Sprague
9:30AM: $50. Raku is based on a tradition Japanese process where specially formulated clay is used to hand build objects and pots. These are then dried, glazed and fired in a small, gas-fired kiln. Pots are removed from the kiln red hot and placed in closed containers full of materials such as saw dust and leaves and allowed to smoke. Click here for more information and to register.

Saturday, August 18
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: Book Talk with Charles Kowalski
1:30 - 3PM: Charles is an active member of the International Thriller Writers. His debut thriller, Mind Virus, won the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Colorado Gold Award, and was a finalist for the Clive Cussler Grandmaster Award and the Killer Nashville Claymore Award. In The Devil’s Son he has taken the current political climate and events to create a thrilling work of fiction. 244-7065

Saturday, August 18
ArtWaves MDI Presents: Neuromuscular Balancing Workshop
2-5PM. Limited to 20 people. Actively and passively shorten long muscles and lengthen short muscles to bring the body toward a state of balance. Helps to relieve/eliminate pain and improve performance. For anyone wanting improved posture, optimal athletic performance, and/or has acute or chronic discomfort. Click here for more info and to register.

Sunday, August 19
ArtWaves MDI Presents: Botanical Pop-Up Books with Rebecca Goodale
9am - 3pm: You will learn five pop-up techniques that will each lend themselves to the expression of botanical forms. You will leave with a 10 page paperback book filled with paper flowers and a lifetime of ideas. In the afternoon we will make Flag Books with Blossoms, Foliage, and Wildlife. Click here for more information or to register!

Tuesday, August 21
ArtWAves MDI Presents: Ink, Watercolor & Wax on Rice Paper
9:30AM or 1PM: Working with ink, wax. and watercolor on delicate rice paper, students will learn and practice the techniques of painting in batik style. No experience is required. Click here for more info and to register.

Tuesday, August 21
Wendell Gilley Museum Presents: Artist Reception for Amy Gagnon and Jordan Chalfant
5 PM - 7 PM: Join us for an Artist Reception for local artists Jordan Chalfant and Amy Gagnon, The event will be held on August 21st, from 5-7 p.m. at The Wendell Gilley Museum, 4 Herrick Rd, Southwest Harbor, ME. Come meet the artists and hear them speak about their art, view their exceptional work, and enjoy refreshments. All are welcome, and admission is free.

Tuesday, August 21
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: Two Great Maine Authors with Margaret Broucek & Joan Dempsey
5:30 - 7:00 pm: Novelists and friends Margaret Broucek (The Futility Experts) and Joan Dempsey (This Is How It Begins) will read briefly from their work and talk about becoming debut authors later in life and the joys of a literary friendship. For more information, please call the Library at 244-7065.

Wednesday, August 22
ArtWaves MDI Presents: 2 Glass Mosaic Workshops
1-4PM: Choose Aquatic Glass Mosaic Art Jam or Mountains & Trees Glass Mosaics! All materials provided. Click here for more information and to register!

Wednesday, August 22
Southwest Harbor Historical Society Presents: History of the Manset Union Church
7 PM at Manset Union Church, 192 Seawall Road. Built in the early 1800's the church is the oldest one on the island. Located at 192 Seawall Road, it has recently been purchased by the Southwest Harbor Historical Society as its headquarters and museum. Free.

Thursday, August 23
Islesford Historical Society Presents: A tour of the old Woodland Hotel in Islesford
10-Noon: The tour will include two adjacent buildings; the dining cottage for the hotel, and the Annex. Guests will also view, from the outside, two other cottages built on the property. For reservations, call Gail Grandgent at 288-9021. The cost is $10. Refreshments will be served. Ferries run from SWH (Cranberry Cove Ferry) and NEH (Beal & Bunker Mailboat).

Thursday, August 23
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: The Adventures of Miss Susan with the Barn Arts Collective
6:30 - 8pm: A work-in-progress showing of a wordless puppet show with music, dedicated to all wonderful children's librarians everwhere! Created by Barn Arts' Resident Artists Brittany Parker, Katie Melby, and Andrew Lynch, The Adventures of Miss Susan follows a hometown hero as she navigates the adventures of both the non-profit world and the books on her shelves. 244-7065

Thursday, August 23
Claremont Hotel Lecture Series: Fulfilling the Promise of Never Again: Arresting & Trying Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities
8:15 PM in the Clarkpoint Room. Stephen Rapp, Esq.: Chairman of the Commission for International Justice & Accountability, The Hague, The Netherlands. Rapp is an American diplomat & prosecutor with more than 30 years of legal experience in the US government & the UN working on issues of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Info: 244-5036. Park at the end of Claremont Road, please.

Monday, August 27
Bass Harbor Library and the Tremont Historical Society Present: Jude Lamb
7PM: Jude Lamb is a storyteller who is creating a series of performances portraying historic Maine women. Tonight, she will portray her fourth-great-grandmother, Eunice Lakeman Hoar. Eunice and her husband Luther were the first permanent settlers on what is now Rangeley Lake. The portrayal is based on a true family story passed down orally and then recorded in several small publications. 244-3798

Tuesday, August 28
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: The Geological Evolution of Mount Desert Island with Duane and Ruth Braun
5:30 - 7:00 pm. Preregistration is required - call 244-7065. Have you ever wondered about the geological origin of Mount Desert Island? How it was put together? What effect the glaciers had on the current landscape? The Brauns are back by popular demand to take us on a geologic history tour! Their talk will begin around a billion years ago!

Thursday, August 30
Claremont Hotel Lecture Series: What in the World is Russia Doing - & Why? Core Ideas Animating Russian Foreign Policy
8:15 PM in the Clarkpoint Room. James Warhola: Professor of Political Science, University of Maine. Information available at 244-5036. Parking is reserved for hotel guests. Please use parking at the end of Claremont Road.

Friday, August 31
Bass Harbor Memorial Library Presents: Bob Sewall & Mia Mantello: Sewall Orchard Vinegar Talk
6 PM: Bob Sewall and his wife, Mia Mantello, of Sewall Orchards, will explain how vinegar is made and speak about the many uses for vinegar from cooking to using for its multiple medicinal benefits. There will be aged vinegar to sample and vinegar for sale. 244-3798

Tuesday, September 4
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: Artists' Reception with Jean Forbes, Gloria Avner, and Sidney Salvatore
5:30 - 7:00 pm: Please join us at an Artists Reception for our September Artists of the Month. For more information, please call the Library at 244-7065.

Friday, September 7
YWCA MDI Presents: “Darkness in Distress” with J. Kelly Beatty
2:30PM: We denizens of Earth stand at a crossroads. For decades we’ve allowed the sprawl of civilization to steal ever more stars from our nighttime skies. But this loss does not have to be permanent. Light pollution can be reversed, easily, by common-sense approaches that not only restore the night sky’s beauty but also provide safe, energy-smart lighting solutions for our 24/7 society. Free.

Friday, September 7
YWCA MDI Presents: “The Real Dancing With the Stars: What’s Up Tonight?” with Jan Hoey
3:30PM: As a preview to tonight’s Seawall Star Party, join Acadia Astronomy Volunteer Jan Hoey for an illustrated orientation to the upcoming celestial show. Bone up on your fall constellations, and learn how to get the most out of your star party experience. Free.

Friday, September 7
Acadia Night Sky Festival: “What’s in the Sky Tonight?” with Richard Luecke
7-8PM at the Seawall Amphitheater. The night sky over Acadia this month glitters with bright stars and constellations, ghostly nebulae, the Milky Way, and four major planets. Amateur astronomer Richard Luecke will take you on a guided tour of the firmament that you will experience as darkness falls. His presentation will be a preview to the public telescopic “star parties”. Free.

Friday, September 7
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: Acadia Night Sky Festival Event
5-6PM: Legion Hall: Earth's return address in the Universe wouldn't easily fit on an envelope. You'll leave this stellar conversation with a better appreciaation for where we fit among the stars. Confirm your understanding about some of the big concepts of time, size and scale, phases, eclipses and tides, rotation versus revolution, astronomical units, light years, and more! 244-7065

Saturday, September 8
Camp Capella's Charity Golf Tournament
7AM - 2PM: 7am registration. 8am Shot Gun Start. BBQ to follow AT Camp CaPella. 1st and 2nd Prizes for Net and Gross. Golf Ball Cannon. Hole in One Cash Prize. Longest Drive Contest. Chipping Contest, Prizes and Live Auction! Sponsorship Levels ranging from $200 Bronze Level, $500 Silver or $1000 Gold Sponsorship Level. Teams of 4 register for $300. All proceeds to benefit Camp CaPella. 843-5104

Saturday, September 8
Maine's Open Lighthouse Day: Bass Harbor Head Light
9-3PM: This popular annual event, which is sponsored by the United States Coast Guard, the Maine Office of Tourism and the American Lighthouse Foundation, attracts between 15,000 to 18,000 visitors each year and offers the general public the rare opportunity to climb and learn about over two dozen historic Maine lights.

Saturday, September 8
ArtWaves MDI Presents: Mosaic Workshop
9:30 am, 1 or 6:30 pm: Come create in the ancient art of mosaics inspired by the night! All skill levels are invited to put your own contemporary twist on this easy to learn medium. Think of coloring with stained glass! $40 per session. (ArtWaves members receive a $10 discount, – we hope you choose to join us!) Click here for more information and to register.

Saturday, September 8
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: “The Glass Universe” with Dava Sobel
1:30 PM: Join our 2017 keynote speaker, award-winning science writer and bestselling author as she discusses her experience researching, reporting, and writing about astronomy. “The Glass Universe” recounts the story of the pioneering women recruited to work in the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s to calculate, measure, classify the information gathered via early astrophotography. Free.

Tuesday, September 11
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: Carey Kish and The Maine Mountain Guide
5:30 - 7 pm: Kish's latest edition of the Maine Mountain Guide, was on sale in bookstores & online in late July. It now covers 300 mountains, 625 trails & nearly 1,500 miles of hiking. In this talk MDI's own Carey Kish will highlight some of the best hikes in Maine from Mt. Agamenticus to Acadia to Aroostook, including more than just a few hikes that folks have likely never heard about! 244-7065

Saturday, September 15
Camp Capella's Annual Touch-A-Truck
11 AM - 2 PM at Speedway 95,1070 Odlin Rd, Hermon, ME. Fun for the whole family! Come explore and learn about a wide variety of trucks, construction vehicles and equipment, emergency vehicles and law enforcement vehicles. Face painting, bounce house, food, clowns and even super heroes!! $5 per person or 6 for $25. All proceeds to benefit Camp CaPella! 207-843-5104

Monday, September 17
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: Elizabeth Garber and Baron Wormser
5:30 - 7 pm: Elizabeth Garber brings us her new work, "Implosion: A Memoir of an Architect's Daughter," and Baron Wormser shares his new book of portraits, "Legends of a Slow Explosion: 11 Modern Lives." They will be at the Library to read from their books and talk about what the modernism of the second half of the twentieth century was about, particularly on a personal, individual level. 244-7065

Wednesday, September 19
Southwest Harbor Historical Society Presents: Historic Cemeteries of SWH
7 PM at Manset Union Church, 192 Seawall Road. The newly formed Southwest Harbor Historic Cemeteries Committee will give an overview of its work so far and its plans for the future. Free.

Saturday, September 22
Fee Free Day in Acadia National Park
Celebrate National Public Lands Day with free admission to Acadia National Park on Saturday, September 22.

Tuesday, October 2
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: Feminine Mysteries as Seen Through Astrology with Savitri Bess
5:30 - 7 pm: Savitri will explore two or three natal astrological charts of those who attend, to point out the ways the feminine mysteries might show up. For more information, please call the Library at 244-7065. Pre-registration required.

Friday, October 5 through Sunday, October 14
2nd Annual Southwest Harbor Week - Celebrate the Quietside of Acadia
Join us for a week-long celebration of the Quietside of Acadia. We kick off with Acadia's Oktoberfest, and close out with the MDI Marathon. In between, we will feature tours, boat cruises, special programs and may other interesting events. Access information by clicking here - as programs are added, we will add them to the calendar!

Friday, October 5
9th Annual Wine Tasting
4-6PM at Smuggler's Den Campground. Join us for our 9th Annual Wine Tasting. Sample more than 30 wines from around the world, and from around Maine. Tasty treats will be served, and enjoy the beautiful fall season with your friends. Click here for more information.

Friday, October 5
YWCA MDI Presents: Women Of Distinction: Writing Your Own Story
6 PM - 8 PM: In addition to presenting Girl, Young Woman, and Woman of the Year as nominated by our community, our keynote speaker will be Gia Drew, a fantastic speaker, advocate for Equality Maine, and one of the first out transgender teachers in the country, also happens to be a writer. Suggested donation of $25/person includes two drink tickets & appetizers. Click here for more info.

Saturday, October 6
23rd Annual Acadia's Oktoberfest
Noon - 5PM at Smuggler's Den Campground. What could be greater than craft beer, music, food and games in the autumn on Mount Desert Island? You will get all these and more at Acadia's Invitational Oktoberfest! For more info, click here!

Saturday, October 6
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: Prospects for Peace on the Korean Peninsula with Kristin Vekasi
1:30 - 3:00 pm: Krisin Vekasi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and School of Policy and International Affairs at the University of Maine. Her research interests focus on international political economy, the dynamics of political conflict, foreign direct investments, and nationalism. 244-7065

Sunday, October 7
Atlantic Brewing Presents: Belt Sanders & BBQ Buffet
11:30AM: Belt Sander Race a friendly but fierce competition in which decorated belt sanders, this year’s theme is pirates, are raced down two tracks in a double elimination bracket. The winners receive prizes, glory, and eternal bragging rights. The Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center and the Muir Fund for Cancer Support are the beneficiaries of this competition. Click here for more information!

Tuesday, October 9
Southwest Harbor Public Library Presents: Community Health Center Open House
5:00 - 6:30 pm: Get to know your Community Health Center providers! Founded in 1997, the Community Health Center provides convenient access to quality primary care and obstetrical services for those living & working on the "quiet side" of MDI. The Center provides a wide variety of services, including family medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics, and behavioral health counseling. 244-7065

Saturday, October 13
Seal Cove Auto Museum Presents: Cars & Coffee: Early Fords
9AM - Noon: An opportunity for drivers to show off their own special cars, and for all auto enthusiasts to congregate to kick tires, peer under hoods, and enjoy coffee with their fellow car-lovers. All are welcome, with or without their own antique or vintage automobile. The October Cars & Coffee will feature Ford’s early As, Ts, and the other Ford “Alphabet Cars.” 244-9242

Saturday, October 13
Seal Cove Auto Museum and the Wendell Gilley Museum Present: Hood Ornament Carving Workshop: Rene Lalique Faucon
1-5PM: Master carver Steve Valleau will teach an introductory carving class during which participants will learn to carve a falcon hood ornament, based on creation of Rene Lalique. Lalique was a French glass designer from the turn of the last century known for his glass art; perfume bottles, vases, jewelry, chandeliers, clocks, and automobile hood ornaments. Click here for registration info.

Sunday, October 14
Mount Desert Island Marathon
Presenting the award-winning Mount Desert Island Marathon, voted 'most scenic' and runner-up 'best overall' marathon by Runner's World! Race day is held annually on the Sunday following Columbus Day. Hosted by Crow Athletics. Click here for more information.

Saturday, November 3
Friends of Acadia's Annual Take Pride in Acadia Day
Each fall, enthusiastic volunteers descend upon Acadia’s historic carriage roads to rake leaves & clear drainage ditches from miles of carriage roads in preparation for winter. Perhaps the most important volunteer event of the year in Acadia, Take Pride in Acadia Day is key to the park’s ability to maintain the carriage roads in pristine condition. We hope you’ll join us! Info: 288-3340

Sunday, November 11
Fee Free Day in Acadia National Park
Celebrate Veteran's Day with free admission to Acadia National Park on Sunday, November 11.