Go Out Local and Love It!
Get into the people-joining, foot-stomping, hot dog-munching mode. It’s festival time, music time the living-is-busy time. It’s the height of summer’s long days when weekly, monthly, or once-a-season events over-spill the calendar.
Scan through a calendar, any calendar, or check out a poster in a store window or on a bulletin board or a sign by the side of the road — and discover what folks are being invited to do, what the spectators are watching, where the participants gather. Don’t forget word-of-mouth; it’s huge in Maine. Storekeepers and shoppers from here are great guides to what’s up. Visitors and vacationers love to share their outing experiences, too.
Celebrate big at a small town annual summerfest. Almost every downtown has its day or weekend, its fun activities, often a parade, fireworks, speeches, maybe a dance and definitely competitions, good cooking, and activities for children.
This weekend there are festivities in Hallowell and East Madison and the continuation of the Maine International Film Festival in Waterville. Next weekend Oakland and Farmington will celebrate summerfests, then Wilton and Winthrop in August, later Madison, and probably a lot of small towns in between. Keep checking out those bulletin boards.
Celebrate small at a quiet, simple outdoor presentation. There are concerts every night of the week, usually in waterside parks, many with nearby playgrounds perfect for bringing children along; outdoor theater productions in Hallowell and Skowhegan; college campus performances and crafts fairs — not to mention the agricultural fairs that will soon begin their schedule in surrounding central Maine locations.
Celebrating small includes those delicious suppers, breakfasts and other benefit meals. The most famous might be the beanhole bean supper sponsored by Belgrade Fire and Rescue. And, celebrating small includes unique experiences: a loon-calling contest, a library book sale, a garden tour, a conservation outing.
Conservation, nature, the outdoors open a whole new range of opportunities for going out local and loving it. A good place to start is one of tho guided hikes or paddles with the 7 Lakes Alliance in Belgrade Lakes or with one of the other associations in the region.
There are indoor events, too — a great excuse to visit historic auditoriums and rustic settings, to experience the quaintness of being in the middle of nowhere, to enjoy the spirit of small-town community.
When it comes to local outings and affordability, there are expensive splurges to be sure, but many of the entertainment and enrichment activities in the area, especially the weekly ones, are free or by donation — making it possible for families to go to an event and have ice cream, too.
Finally, don’t forget that going out local includes event-free outing, too. Take a drive to a neighboring town and discover that getting there is a large part of the fun — a scenic road, a surprise encounter with wildlife, a stopover at a roadside stand or country store and safe sidewalks to stroll at the end of the drive.
Go out local and love it!
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