Archive for March 2023
Photography of New York, New Mexico, France Comes to Gorham
GORHAM, ME (March 24, 2023) – From March 23 – December 11, 2023, the Glickman Library, Aperture Gallery will feature the photography of Todd Webb.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1905, Charles Clayton (“Todd”) Webb III took up photography in the 1930s after having lost his earnings as a stockbroker during The Crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression. He studied at the Detroit Camera Club while working for Chrysler in the export division and then served as a photographer for the US Navy during World War II, moving to New York City in 1945 after returning from the South Pacific. After the war, he was hired by Roy Stryker, former manager of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) photography project during the Great Depression, to photograph for Standard Oil and Fortune Magazine. Throughout the course of his long career as a photographer, Webb traveled the world photographing people and places in his distinctly straight approach to the medium. He and his wife, Lucille, retired to Maine in 1975, where he lived, photographed, and wrote until his death in 2000, at age 94. Frequently referred to as “an historian with a camera,” Webb’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is included in numerous museum collections.
The University of Southern Maine is fortunate to house a formidable collection of photographs by Webb, stemming from his time as the Art Gallery’s inaugural visiting artist in 1987, and his accompanying solo exhibition on the Gorham Campus—Todd Webb: Five Decades of Photographs. The show featured fifty photographs, ten from each of the following decades: the 1940s, the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s, and the 1980s. After the exhibition, Webb asked the show’s co-curators, Juris Ubans, Director of the Art Gallery, and Rose Marasco, Art Department faculty member, to select photographs from each of the decades as a gift from him to the Art Gallery.
Todd Webb: Photography Across New York, New Mexico, and France focuses on a selection of Webb’s photographs as they engage with these locations. Showcasing the University’s Webb collection alongside loans from the Todd Webb Archive and Distinguished Professor Emerita Rose Marasco, this exhibition brings together many aspects of Webb’s place-based photographic approach. This is the fourth solo exhibition of Webb’s works at the University of Southern Maine; previous one-man shows were hung in 1980, 1987, and 2015. — Dr. Libby Bischof, Executive Director, Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education
The exhibition coincides with the showing of the Portland Museum of Art’s Outside the Frame: Todd Webb in Africa. The Museum’s exhibition presents a recently recovered photographic series by Webb, in which the United Nations commissioned him to document emerging industries and technologies in nine countries on the African continent. Together, the University’s Photography Across New York, New Mexico, and France and the Museum’s Outside the Frame create a singular opportunity to see multiple facets of Webb’s oeuvre here in southern Maine.

The work of Todd Webb
Bicycle Rodeo is Coming to Gorham

GORHAM, ME (March 24, 2023) — Join the Gorham Recreation Department and the Bicycle Coalition of Maine for a Bicycle Rodeo on Saturday, April 22rd from 1:00pm – 3:00pm.
For kids ages 3 – 10, this rodeo will include helmet check, a bike mechanical check and a chance to ride in a closed traffic skills course that teach the rules of the road!
Raffle for participants will include bike helmets and other prizes!
Gorham’s Kim Moody to be Inducted into Maine Hall of Fame

CUMBERLAND, ME (March 21, 2023)—The Maine Sports Hall of Fame will induct ten in ceremonies at the Merrill Auditorium on October 29th. “I am very proud of our diversity in terms of geography and the variety of sports represented,” said Board Chairman Brian Corcoran. “It’s intriguing to learn the stories of those who are the best of the best in Maine athletics.”
The inductees include bicyclist Susan Elias, a Readfield native. Elias was ranked number one in America, third in the world and finished fourth in the Tour de France, an event in which she competed three times. She won or was top American in many prestigious races and named VeloNews’ U. S. Woman Athlete of the Year. She was also a great track athlete at UMaine setting school records in the 880, 800-meter, 1500-meter and mile runs while contributing to records in three relays.
Runner Bob Hillgrove of Rockland dominated Maine’s roads in the 60’s and early 70’s winning a total of 503 events, including a remarkable 49 straight. He won every major race in Maine, including the Portland Boys Club eight times and the Bangor Labor-Day 5-Miler, including the inaugural, seven times. He won the Masters’ Division of the Bolder Boulder in front of a full stadium of 45,000 people.
Biz Houghton starred at Cape Elizabeth, dominated the Triple-C and was named all state. At Boston College, the 6’ 2” center became the Eagles’ leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker as a junior. She played professionally in Ireland leading Castledermot to the Irish National Cup. She has been central to the Maine Senior Women’s Basketball League for 20 years which includes a silver-medal performance at the National Senior Games.
David Hughes graduated from Yarmouth and the University of Southern Maine where he was captain of the sailing team twice at both schools. He is a two-time Olympian and a one-time Olympic coach. He is a four-time World Champion and multi-time winner of World Cup, North American and US National Sailing Championships. He is Vice President of the US Olympians & Paralympians Association.
Wrestler Ben McCrillis of Westbrook was a high school state champion. He went on to win 123 victories at American International where he was a four-time all-conference wrestler. He finished fourth, third, second and fourth at the NCAA East Regional Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships three times. He won three national championships and was the AAU World Champion. He qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials reaching the semi-finals.
Kim Moody of Gorham was a top road racer during the 1970’s and 1980’s and most accomplished as an ultra-runner. In 1983, she won the Chicago National Championship 50-miler, running the second fastest time ever by an American and third fastest in the world. She won the Casco Bay and Maine Coast Marathons multiple times and several Rowdy-50 Milers. She qualified for the Olympic Trials in the Marathon in 1984 and 1988.
Ninety-year-old Howard Paradis of Madawaska is known as much for building the sport of skiing as he is for his competitive teams. He led the effort to build Mt. Carmel near his home in Frenchville as well as the cross-country trails which became Four Seasons. In 35 years of coaching, Madawaska won 15 girls and 9 boys championships and produced 15 Maine Skimeisters.
Gabby Price was a great athlete and coach. A three-sport star at Bangor, he went on to play football at Maine. He was offensive coordinator at Bangor as they won two titles and then became head coaching winning two more. He would compile a record of 129-52 at Bangor. He then rebooted the Husson football program compiling a 72-45 record. The Eagles had four prefect ECFC seasons and four NCAA Tournament appearances.
Will Sanborn of Standish is synonymous with St. Joesph’s Baseball. He played at Bonny Eagle and St. Joe’s where he still holds three records as a player. He became head coach in 1993 and enters his 31st season with 799 victories and 21 championships. He has been named Coach of the Year six times.
Mike Siviski has won 287 games at his alma mater Winslow High School. He was a three-sport athlete before heading to UMaine where he played football. He became an assistant coach at Thornton Academy for sixteen years before succeeding Tank Violette as the head coach at Winslow in 1985. Over the next 35 seasons, he would lead his teams to eleven regional and seven state titles. Three times the Raiders won titles back-to-back championships.
Spring ArtLab at USM Gorham Open for 3-12th Grade Students
GORHAM, ME (March 17, 2023) – Students in grades 3-12: Join the USM Art Education Program for ArtLab on USM’s Gorham Campus April 1st, 8th and 15th from 10am – 12pm! Students will have the opportunity to work with a variety of art mediums and materials, guided by USM’s Art Education Student Teachers.
Enrollment is open to all abilities. Tuition is $12.50 for a 2 hour session of Artmaking. Register for 1, 2, or all 3 Saturdays by visiting the Gorham Recreation Department website.
Where: Drawing building #49 – USM Gorham (next to Robie Andrews Hall)

Spring Exhibition at Kate Cheney Chappell 83 Center for Book Arts
PORTLAND, ME (March 16, 2023) – Kate Cheney Chappell 83 Center for Book Arts will be holding its Spring 2023 Exhibition, Building Books: New England Book Artists Members Exhibition from January 20 – April 29, 2023 in Great Reading Room, 7th floor, Glickman Family Library.
An Artist Reception will be held Saturday, April 1st, 2023, 2-4pm at University Event Room, 7th floor at Glickman Library. Come and meet the artists! Light refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public.
New England Book Artists (NEBA) is a professional organization of book artists and bibliophiles. It celebrates, promotes, and supports the book arts and its makers, fosters public education, and nurtures an understanding and enjoyment of the discipline through exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and related activities.
Paste Paper and Layered Papermaking workshop with Cynthia Ahlstrin will be held Saturday, March 25, 2023 from 9:30AM – 4:00PM with a lunch break 12:30PM – 1:30PM (Please bring your own lunch). 12 students max. Workshop fee: $150 (Most materials will be provided). Visit https://usm.maine.edu/book-arts/event-calendar/ to register.
Additionally, Book Arts Bazaar 2023 will be held Sunday, April 2, 2023, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Wishcamper Center on the Portland Campus. This festival will feature Book Artists, papermakers, bookbinders, printmakers, educators, writers, and all things related to the book.

Artist’s Book Closed, Love Thy Neighbor, by Alice Stanne
Gorham is Invited to Khmer New Year Festival and Parade
WESTBROOK, ME (March 15, 2023) — The Khmer New Year 2023 Festival & Parade will feature traditional Buddhist blessings, ceremonies, and chants on Saturday, April 15th, from 10am-4pm at Riverbank Park, 677 Main Street, Westbrook, Maine. Event is free and open to the public.
From 10am-12pm, free Khmer food will be offered by Watt Samaki volunteers, street food for sale by Khmer Maine volunteers (proceeds to benefit Watt Samaki), and the chance to meet and access resources from our sponsors and community vendors. A small walking ceremony will commence at 1pm followed by music and dance performances and remarks from event organizers and public officials.
Khmer New Year is a widely celebrated holiday among the Cambodian population and marks the end of the traditional harvest season. In Cambodia, it is a time of rest and leisure for farmers who return to their home communities to celebrate with relatives. Although not exclusively a religious holiday, many Cambodians observe the New Year through purification ceremonies, visits to the local temple, parades, and by playing traditional games.
Unlike other Cambodian holidays that follow the lunar calendar, Khmer New Year is set in April according to the Gregorian calendar. The official dates for observation are Tuesday, April 14 thru Thursday, April 16.
If you are a public official, foundation, or grant funder, please RSVP at https://khmermaine.org/knyrsvp.
Want to get started on the celebrations early? Donate to Watt Samaki Temple

Eurydice Rising, A Tale of Love and Loss, Showing in Gorham
GORHAM, ME (March 16, 2023) — The Osher School of Music and the Department of Theatre and Dance present a dynamic, collaborative reimagining of one of ancient Greece’s most iconic myths. Eurydice Rising pulls from a diverse body of work surrounding Orpheus’s journey into the underworld to be reunited with his young bride. Theirs is a journey of love, loss, and creative expression that exceeds the bounds of life and death, presence and absence. At its core, the Orphic cycle is an exploration of art and music as restorative, life affirming acts, so powerful that they might reopen stories that seem to have concluded and transform death itself to an opportunity for new life.
Eurydice Rising, showing April 4-8, 2023; for tickets, see https://usm.maine.edu/department-theatre/box-office-tickets/

Gorham Rec Covers Rental Skates at St. Patrick’s Day Open Skate

GORHAM, ME (March 10, 2022) — Join Gorham Recreation Department Friday, March 17th from 1:00pm-3:00pm for a special St. Patrick’s Day Open Skate at USM Ice Arena! $5/Adults $3/Students. Gorham Rec will be providing FREE skate rentals (limited quantities) and hot coco. We will also be giving away prizes for Best St. Patrick’s Day Attire!
Artisan Market Coming to Robie Gym in Gorham this Weekend
GORHAM, ME (March 10, 2023) — Join Maine Micro Artisans for our monthly Artisan Market at the Robie Gym! This market is filled to the max!
These markets are always a feast for the eyes. You’ll find a premium selection of handmade goods including: Metalworks
Jewelry; Mosaics; Woodworking; Handmade Soaps; Pet Products & Gear; Stained Glass; Artwork; Macrame; Plushies; Home Décor; Gourmet Tea.
Come on out and see us!
