December 4, 2024
Winter on the Maine Art Museum Trail
The Maine Art Museum Trail is a partnership of nine art museums in Maine, which collectively offer more than 80,000 works of art. Spanning 350 miles, these museums offer objects from well-known contemporary artists, native American artists, and Maine artists. Winter is the perfect time to take a multi-day tour. While three museums are closed during the winter months — the Abbe Museum, the Monhegan Museum of Art & History, and The Ogunquit Museum of American Art — there are still six outstanding museums to visit. The Bates College Museum of Art in Lewiston houses pre-modern prints, contemporary works on paper, pre-Columbian art, works by Maine artists, and African art. At the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Brunswick, Greek, Egyptian, and Chinese antiquities predominate. In Waterville, the Colby Museum of Art is famed for its collection of contemporary artworks. The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland has more than 15,000 works, with a vast collection of the work of Maine artists, including N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, and Jamie Wyeth. The Portland Museum of Art is home to a wide-ranging modern and contemporary art collection and is known for its rotating exhibitions. Finally, the University of Maine’s Zillman Art Museum in Bangor houses more than 4,000 works focusing on contemporary art from 1945 to the present day. Visit the Maine Art Museum Trail for more information.
Getaways: Hotels Open in Winter
Winter is the ideal time to cozy up and spend a weekend or a week at a classic Maine inn, along the coast, or in the mountains. The Longfellow Inn is newly opened and ideal for a Portland city weekend. Forty kilometers of cross-country trails are a highlight of a stay at The Bethel Inn Resort & Suites in Western Maine, not far from Sunday River Ski Resort. Kennebunkport’s White Barn Inn offers a sophisticated getaway and fine dining. In Rockport, the luxurious Samoset Resort has warm and welcoming rooms but also a glacier ice bar on some January weekends to enjoy the brisk coastal air. Just south of Portland in Cape Elizabeth is Inn by the Sea, located on a mile of sandy beach, with 61 luxuriously appointed fireplace rooms and one and two-bedroom suites. Cliff House is set on the edge of the Atlantic on the rocky coast of Ogunquit, with panoramic ocean and coastal views from 226 guest rooms and suites. For more info, go to Visit Maine.
Maine’s Newest Eateries
The parade of new restaurants and bars continues around the state. Bar Kosho in Bridgton has opened, serving inventive Asian fusion in a restaurant and bar on North High Street, a collaboration between The Little Mountain Store and Street Eats chef Jeremy Donovan. Yolked Farm to Table is on the Roosevelt Trail in Windham, run by Maine natives Jesse and Mindy Bouchard, with a fine dining menu that includes rosemary chicken pie, beef osso bucco, and a rack of lamb. Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue has some inventive pizza and creative barbecue on Deering Avenue in Portland. Thames Landing serves “Modern New England Fare” at a waterfront setting in Portland, with menu items like a Lobster Roll, a Wagyu Petit Filet, and Seared Salmon.
Freeport Sparkles for the Holidays
Freeport is one of New England’s best shopping destinations, with dozens of brand-name outlets such as Coach, Patagonia, Ann Taylor, J.Crew, and Ralph Lauren, as well as local boutiques and the vast campus of L.L. Bean. With a host of restaurants, breweries, inns, and hotels, it’s a destination that visitors can enjoy all winter long. Every year, Freeport decorates for the holidays and this year marks the 31st season of the annual Sparkle Celebration from December 6-15, 2024. The celebration kicks off on Friday, December 6, with the Sparkle Celebration Parade of Lights, Gift Certificate Giveaways with the Stealth Elf, the Sparkle Stroll with special deals and door prizes, and the Sparkle Frosty Frolic features food trucks, fire pits, holiday tunes, tasty treats, gifts for giving. Go to Visit Maine for more on Freeport.
Maine Media Workshops – Rockport
Spend a winter’s day — or a week — honing your creative skills in Maine this winter. Maine Media is one of the longest-running educational institutions of its kind, celebrating its 50th anniversary of visual storytelling this year. It offers classes and courses in filmmaking, photography, book arts, travel, young artists, and writing workshops that attract people worldwide to its Rockport, Maine campus. It also conducts online courses. Workshops are held year-round, offering everything from one-day classes to multi-week intensives. The campus is on Camden Street in Rockport, in the heart of Midcoast Maine. The 15-acre site offers dining facilities, and housing is located within walking distance of classrooms, the sound stage, and studios.
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