Where to Find Weekend Markets in Maine

When there is not much snow on the ground during winter weekends, our family finds ourselves hunting for accessible adventures. We found a road trip to a new-to-us weekend farmers’ market is always a highlight. There’s a thrill to discovering local farms and artisans. All of us enjoy chatting with vendors, sampling new foods, and of course, shopping for all nature of good things. For MP and DP, a visit to a local market is also a welcome respite from our weekly grocery store visits.

From Berwick to Orono, here are some weekend markets that are worth the trip:

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Dinosaurs Unearthed at Portland Science Center

Our team recently had the opportunity to check out “Dinosaurs Unearthed” at Portland Science Center. The interactive exhibit is like Jurassic Park come to life. Families will find thirteen fully animatronic dinosaurs that were created by paleontologists and researchers to make the dinosaurs appear as close to the real thing as possible. The exhibit is particularly exciting for Portland, as the show marks its debut in New England.

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Flash Giveaway: Tickets to LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Boston

Let’s celebrate a fantastic summer with a giveaway! Our friends at LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Boston are offering tickets for a family of four (good for one year). The giveaway marks LEGO Master Model Builder Megan Quigley’s visit to Portland Sea Dogs stadium this Sunday, August 28 at 1:00 p.m. Megan will be sharing some of her favorite baseball-themed LEGO creations, providing tips to aspiring builders, and throwing out the first pitch at the game.

Megan Quigley helps kids build fun creations at LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Boston.

Interested in winning tickets to LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Boston? All you need to do is comment below. We want to know all about your family adventures in Maine this summer! Where did you travel? And what did you do? Contest ends Thursday, August 25, 2016 at midnight EST. Good luck!

PS: Our visit to LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Boston and what it’s like to be a LEGO Master Model Builder.

 

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Father’s Day Gifts

It’s nearly the end of the school year and there’s not a parent alive who is not busy. There are school events, barbecues and birthday parties, summer schedules to figure out, and so much more. With all of this to juggle, it’s no wonder Father’s Day seems to sneak up on us. It’s a good thing we have so many great resources in Maine to make gift giving a little easier. Here are a few ideas for all of the fantastic fathers out there:

1. Outdoors with Kids: Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont
by Ethan Hipple & Yemaya St. Clair

Our family loves discovering new hiking trails in New England. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) book, “Outdoors with Kids: Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont” features 75 of the best family hiking, camping, and paddling trips in our region. There are some familiar trails highlighted, including favorites like Mackworth Island, Bradbury Mountain, and Gilsland Farm, but there are dozens more—both in coastal and inland Maine—that we have yet to explore. MP also loves that there is a quick, at-a-glance guide that gives parents an idea of what to expect, including trail difficulty, whether or not you can bring dogs, park fees and more handy information.

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Adventures for the Long Weekend

Memorial Day weekend. Huzzah! It’s finally here. As always, we have lots of fun plans in mind. Here are a few on our weekend wish list:

Listen
We’re hoping the weather will be kind to us tonight, so we can check out Cassidy Holden and the Orleans Kids at Congress Square Park in Portland. The event is part of the Portland Swing Project, which showcases music and dance from the 1920s-40s through live music, dances and performances. CP#1 and #2 love all kinds of music, and we can’t wait for them to experience live jazz.

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Portland Children’s Film Festival

Our family was looking forward to visiting friends in Providence for our first children’s film festival over February break, but the weather didn’t cooperate. While Maine escaped a blizzard, Rhode Island was hit with a big snowstorm and we cancelled the trip. MP was so disappointed. She figured the kids would have to wait until next year for the experience.

Then MP received a note from Portland-based mom, Lauri Boxer-Macomber, detailing the city’s upcoming children’s film festival. The event, now in its 4^th year, benefits the East End Community School, a K-5 public school in Portland. According to Lauri, one the festival’s main goals is to create lasting connections within the community through films.

The entirely volunteer-run festival, which begins Wednesday, March 25th and runs through Sunday, March 29th, features everything from animated short films for little ones to documentaries for teens. Each film focuses on a different part of the world in an effort to create a global awareness for young audiences. The films will be shown at several venues around Portland, including Space Gallery, The Portland Museum of Art, and The Portland Public Library, to name a few.

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An Interview with LEGO Master Model Builder Ian Coffey

Twenty-six-year-old LEGO Master Model Builder, Ian Coffey, was in Portland for the Old Port Festival in early June, sharing his incredible building talents with the masses. MP had the opportunity to chat with Ian, learn how he became a LEGO Master Model Builder, and what it’s like to work at the new LEGOLAND® Discovery Center in Boston.

Ian in Portland during Old Port Fest.

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Brunch at the East Ender and Bug Light

Note: The East Ender has new owners (formerly from Small Axe Truck). You can read more about the change here. 

We celebrated Father’s Day with brunch at the East Ender in Portland with good friends. Neither family had ever been to the bustling, two story restaurant, and all of us were excited to try the food. If you go, this is a place to indulge in pre-brunch sweets and savories. Our table of hungry kids and adults sampled crispy trout fritters, a homemade, chocolate and banana pop tart, decadent cheddar swirl buns with prosciutto and pepper jelly (MP’s favorite), and simple hushpuppies with maple sour cream.

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Homemade Spring Rolls

Here’s a sampling of what CP#1 has requested for her lunch: goat cheese wrapped in salami; mozzarella, tomato and basil on skewers; and rice and beans with lime. MP is all for healthy, creative lunches, but when CP#1 asked for fresh spring rolls, she wondered, how will I pull this off?

She enlisted the help of her friend, Watcharee Limanon, a mother of twin boys and experienced Thai chef. A Bangkok native, Watcharee has explored Thai street food and the finest Thai restaurants. She’s also studied at a number of professional cooking schools, including Le Cordon Bleu in Bangkok.

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More & Co.

In Maine, which often feels like one big small town, it’s not uncommon to experience six degrees of separation. Take, for example, the roundabout way MP discovered the Portland studio and shop, More & Co. While visiting Tandem Coffee, she came across the gorgeous quarterly 3191 Miles Apart: a lifestyle magazine based in Portland, Maine and Portland, Oregon. MP noticed that the Maine contributor, Maria Alexander Vettese, is one of the founders of More & Co., and that’s what led MP to this beautiful shop.

More & Co. is a colorful space that’s especially pleasing to visit in the spring, when our landscape is still brown and gray. There is so much for adults and kids to love here. The shop is a great resource for inspired gifts.

MP loves this handmade sweater for its spring green color and stripes.

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