Renovations at the Waterville Opera House Near Completion

Below you find a YouTube video that provides an insider look at a major renovation project at the Waterville Opera House in Maine. With a budget of $5,000,000 the historical site has been transformed to cater for modern day performances and events.

This project has provided countless jobs in the region and as it nears completion we understand that the Opera House is expected to open its doors at the end of April.

During the renovations an historical artifact was discovered, buried, not in the ground, but on the ceiling of the Opera House. See how that has been restored to its former glory and how the renovations will benefit the arts in Maine.

There is a full transcription of this video available by clicking the following link: Transcription Link.



If you are thinking of renovations or upgrades to your facility then please take a look at our Cultural Facilities Grant that is being offered one more time. The deadline is April 26.

Bon à Tirer, ME-NB printmaking/ film project

Bon à Tirer is a documentary about an artist exchange of printmakers and master printers from the U.S. and Canada. The gathering aligns with the Maine/New Brunswick Cultural Initiative and included artists: Hermenegilde Chiasson (New Brunswick); Charlie Hewitt (Maine); Christian Le Poul (Quebec); David Umholtz (New Brunswick); David Wolfe (Maine). A second exchange is being planned for 2011.

Bon à Tirer from Hemmings House Pictures on Vimeo.

The Maine Arts Commission outreach continued this month as Darrell Bulmer returned to Brunswick’s Frontier Café on Monday night to be a part of another evening of presentations to artists.

This evening concentrated on legal issues that face artists and the newly reemerged Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts were on hand to demystify copyright law.

The 90 minute presentation from Charles P Bacall, Esq. from Verril Dana LLP has to be one of the most interesting presentations made to artists for a long time. The audience was instructed to bring their questions, and they followed those instructions to the letter.



At least 50 diverse questions were posed to Charles during his presentation, causing him to extend his presentation to the relief and appreciation of the 50+ audience members.

Darrell captured the entire event on two video cameras and in audio. Once the edited version is available it will be posted on our YouTube page in segments for all to access.

This evening was presented by Five Rivers Arts Alliance who has a series of workshops at Frontier this year.

Art Attack with Lee Sandstead

Art Attack with Lee Sandstead is a Travel Channel series. The clips are two to three minute vignettes with a Crocodile-Hunter meets Sister Wendy flavor. They can be found at http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Art_Attack and are worth a peek. It's nice to see a show devoted to cultural tourism, it gives me hope for the future.