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Oceanside Meadows Innstitute
2007 Concert and Lecture Schedule
Dear Friends, We are excited to share our good news with
you - we are honored to have received the Gulf of Maine Council’s Visionary
Award. We wish to
thank all of the patrons, friends, artists, and scientists that have made
possible our environmental and cultural activities in this magnificent part of
the Maine coast. We are eager to inform you of our new lineup of events to
entertain, amuse, and enrich you this summer season. More than ever, we have
sought to bring varied, engaging, and exceptionally talented acts to our
restored 1820’s timber framed barn, turned concert and lecture hall. Continuing
with the goal of supporting and promoting the arts and sciences, we invite you
to join us for jovial nights throughout the season in this historic setting
on the beautiful Schoodic Peninsula.
Click on any of the 2007 dates below to get detailed information about each
event.
Thursday, June 28th, 7:30 p.m. The
Art of the Folk Song with the Acadian Consort
Thursday,
July 12th, 7:30 p.m. Maine: Guess Where from the air
Thursday, July 19th 7:30 p.m. Wild
Asparagus
Thursday,
July 26th, 2006, 7:30 pm Bruce Kidman of Maine Nature Conservancy
August 16th, 7:30 p.m. Megan Light
Thursday,
August 23rd, 7:30 p.m. Thomas Urquhart: For the Beauty of the Earth, Birding,
Opera and Other Journeys
Thursday,
September 6th, 7:30 p.m. Erica Wheeler in concert
Thursday,
September 13th, 7:30 p.m. Cynthia Simonds author of Fresh Maine Salads and
Superb Maine Soups
Thursday,
June 28th, 7:30 p.m.
The Art of the Folk Song with the Acadian
Consort. A musicological survey that
explores the origins of secular song in the British Isles and Western Europe,
following its evolution from the Middle Ages to the present. We explore the
connection between folk ballads from England, Scotland, and Ireland with their
descendants in the United States and Canada. From troubadours to blues shouters,
we will take you on a musical journey through space and time, offering food for
thought and a feast for the ears. Members of the Acadian Consort are: Gary
Bushee, Heidi Daub, Gene Nichols, and Bill Schubeck; voices, strings,
woodwinds, and percussion. Also featuring local guest singers.
Tickets $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Reservations strongly recommended. Tel.
(207) 963-5557
Thursday,
July 12th, 7:30 p.m. Maine: Guess Where from the air. Photographer
Chuck Feil will bring his magnificent flying machine a homemade gyrocopter, from
which he has taken an extraordinary collection of photos of Maine from the Air.
Chuck together with author Murad Sayen, in their new book from Down East Press,
present Maine in a whole new light -- as a series of visual and written puzzles
to test the reader's knowledge of Maine by identifying the locations depicted in
the photos and sometimes by answering detailed questions about the locations
themselves. The book's text provides clues about each location and photo.
Questions are then posed for the reader with the answers in the back of the
book. The book's text is whimsical and entertaining. Depending on a
reader's knowedge, some locations will be easy to identify while others will
leave even the most devoted Maineiac pulling his or her hair. Whether readers
are interested in solving the mysteries or not, Feil's photos will take them on
a delightful and beautiful tour of the state. CHARLES FEIL is the author
and photographer of several books featuring photos taken from his homemade
gyrocopter. MURAD SAYEN is a photographer, writer, and painter, who
previously was a world-renowned craftsman of fine-art knives. This is his second
book. Notably, Chuck's e-mail signature reads "Life should NOT be a journey to
the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well
preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in
the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what
a ride!" Join Chuck and Murad for an undoubtedly fun filled evening and be
challenged by their presentation of many of the photos from their spectacular
new title from Downeast. Admission is free, with all donations going to
support Chuck and Murad's adventures, their spectacular book will be available
for signing. Seat reservations strongly recommended. Tel: (207) 963-5557.
Thursday,
July 19th 7:30 p.m.
Wild Asparagus is a five person band from Western
Massachusetts that Ben and Sonja discovered on a warm Caribbean winters night in
the US Virgin Islands, where they have an understandably huge following. Drawing
upon music from New England, the British Isles, and Canada, as well as classical
sources, Wild Asparagus takes an original approach to the traditional dance
music of our folk heritage. Using their unique blend of instruments, creativity,
and skills, they offer a sensitive and powerful performance. Since 1984, Wild
Asparagus has been highly successful in bringing their music concerts throughout
the United States. Wild Asparagus is Ann Percival on piano, guitar, and
vocals. Ann's playing is highly inventive while still maintaining an
irresistible rhythm. David Cantieni, a woodwind wizard, pours forth lively
melodies and liquid harmonies on his flutes, tin-whistle, oboe, saxophone and
bombard. George Marshall is an accomplished English concertina player and also
provides driving rhythms on bodhran and bones. Mark Murphy on bass is a dynamo
of musical energy. Becky Tracy's masterful fiddling is that rare combination of
energy and beauty. Wild Asparagus has appeared at numerous major festivals and
dance events throughout the United States, Canada, and Alaska including:
Pinewoods, Fiddle and Dance at Ashokan, The Swannanoa Gathering, City Stages,
Lake Eden Arts Festival, Sierra Swing, John C. Campbell Folk School, Old Songs,
Falcon Ridge and the Hudson River Revival. Wild Asparagus has released six
recordings on its own label. Join us for a toe tapping evening of
magnificent music in our historic hall. Tickets $10 in advance, $12
at the door. Reservations strongly recommended. Tel. (207) 963-5557

Thursday, July 26th 7:30 pm Bruce Kidman of Maine Nature Conservancy Maine
is known by its salt bays and scenic coastline, serene forests and mountain
trails. People are drawn to its powerful rivers and many lakes, its farms,
and islands. Some come for the fishing, hiking and boating, while many are
content to admire the slant of light on a granite outcrop or inhale
the fragrance of the balsam fir. For those who cherish Maine’s varied and
spectacular landscape, this is a time of tremendous opportunity and
significant challenge. For twenty years, the Land for Maine’s Future Program
(LMF) has been at the heart of
efforts to conserve the best Maine has to offer, to make sure these
pleasures continue to await every
resident and visitor. This award-winning land conservation initiative has
assured access to lakes, rivers, streams and coastal beaches. It has
protected important wildlife habitats, fragile mountaintops and unique
natural places. Working with other state
agencies and with towns and land trusts, the Land for Maine’s Future
Program has helped acquire properties that can both preserve our heritage
and welcome our use. In this anniversary year, however, the program is cash
strapped and in need of help. In November, Maine voters have a chance to
refund the program with $17 million in bond funds, but first supporters need
to get out the vote. This effort is led by Citizens to Save Maine’s Heritage
which is now raising funds to mount just such a campaign. As
policy director for The Nature Conservancy in Maine, Bruce Kidman,
has been working to sustain the LMF program
for over a dozen years. He has co-led several successful Land for Maine’s
Future campaigns and is now deep into the third. Along with that experience,
he will bring a nuts and bolts knowledge of land conservation gained through
work on nearly a million acres of land conservation, including some of
Maine’s most outstanding efforts, including the St. John River, Katahdin
Forest, Machias River and Mount Agamenticus projects. He’ll talk about -
and show - a variety of LMF
success stories, from the very first purchase at Kennebunk Plains in
southern Maine to the more recent, such as Marshall Island in Jericho Bay.
And he’ll explain why changes in land ownership throughout the state
are placing the very lands we cherish at risk. The concept behind the Land
for Maine's Future Program is simple: lands that have exceptional natural
or recreational value warrant permanent protection. Since its creation, the
Program has assisted in the acquisition of hundreds of thousands of acres,
and hundreds of miles of shorefront and trails.
All
donations will go to support the LMF Program. Seat reservations strongly
recommended. Tel. (207) 963-5557
During our summer hiatus enjoy the Schoodic Arts for All Arts
Festival from July 30th to August 12th offering a multitude of magnificent events from
concerts to workshops. For more info see www.schoodicarts.org or call (207) 963
2569.
August
16th, 7:30 p.m. Megan Light. New England singer-songwriter Megan Light
returns with her fresh new sound every listener needs to hear. Her roots
start in a small lobster fishing town in Winter Harbor, Maine. Megan
attended college at the University of Southern Maine where she Majored in
Music Performance with a concentration in Jazz Voice studies. Although
College was imperative for the growth in Megan Light, she felt that her
purpose in life was for something much bigger. In fall 2004, she packed up
her voice and moved to Nashville, TN. It wasn't long before Megan realized
what a natural talent she had in songwriting. She wasn't the only one taking
notice. After only two years of writing, she turned on the interest of
producers Robert Reynolds (Grammy Award winner from the Mavericks) and
Nashville singer-songwriter Jim Reilley(New Dylans). In Spring 2006 they
teamed together and recorded Megan's first album "Weightless". This
upbeat pop/rock album is radio friendly with a unique sound. Her songs
reflect a realism of her life in the music industry, her ups and downs, and
all the discoveries she has found along the way. Megan has been compared to
the likes of Liz Phair, Nelly Fertado, Coldplay, and Ani Difranco. Not only
has Megan sold out shows from her hometown, but she is also creating her
place in Nashville drawing a local following playing venues including world
famous songwriting home, "The Bluebird". Her acoustic shows are incredibly
special as she touches the souls of people from all over the world. You can
say this 23 year olds talent is way beyond her age. It is without a doubt
that Megan Light has something special that only comes around once and a
great while. Megan Light will be available to sign her new album which is
due to be released at the end of June at what will no doubt be a very
special program. Tickets $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Reservations
strongly recommended. Tel: (207) 963-5557.
Thursday,
August 23rd, 7:30 p.m. Thomas Urquhart: For the Beauty of the Earth, Birding,
Opera and Other Journeys Today, when most personal memoirs involve
misery and dysfunction, when the competition is to describe the most disrupted
and fragmented existence imaginable, it is exhilarating to encounter a life of
modesty, happiness and immeasurable stability thoroughly recounted. Often
when we think of nature writers and naturalists we think of the rough-hewn or
the rural, rugged outdoor types wrestled into epiphany by the arms of Mother
Nature. Thomas Urquhart found a different path. He combines a classical
education with a lifelong passion for opera, literature and art. And from his
earliest days he has been a devoted, devotedly amateur, naturalist. In
For the Beauty of the Earth Urquhart begins with the lives of ancestors—his
grandmother, “a patron saint of lost causes” who cherished her signed photo of
Robert E. Lee, his Great Aunt Catharine, arrested with Edna St. Vincent Millay
while protesting what she considered the judicial murder of Sacco and Vanzetti,
and even back to the great 17th-century translator of Rabelais, Sir Thomas
Urquhart, who, it is said, died of laughing. From the hills and fields of
England – both olde and New – he takes us to Italy for “birding through the
Renaissance,” then invites us to the wild landscape of the Camargue in Provence,
and the villages of Mali in West Africa. Listed on The Best Book list of the Los
Angeles Times that described the work "... Comprehensive and compelling ... The
dilemmas that Urquhart so eloquently lays out in For the Beauty of the Earth
remain dilemmas. But it is the questioning itself that makes this book genuinely
inspiring, questions asked so passionately, so intelligently and in such
glorious and accomplished prose that Urquhart convinces us, against all
cynicism, that our benighted species is capable of finding the necessary
answers, and what’s more, he makes us eager to try.” Through the years,
birding has provided Urquhart with his opportunities for travel, his practical
education and his passionate place in the natural world. Thomas A.
Urquhart (pronounced Erkutt) was the executive director of the Maine Audubon
Society from 1988 to 2000. Educated at Oxford University, he has worked for
conservation organizations for twenty-five years. He lives with his wife and
children in Falmouth, Maine. Seat reservations strongly recommended. Tel: (207)
963-5557.
Thursday,
September 6th, 7:30 p.m. Erica Wheeler in concert. Erica is an
award-winning songwriter with four critically acclaimed CDs to her credit Her
music charted for four weeks in the top ten on Billboard’s Gavin Americana
Chart. Touted in the press as the next Mary Chapin Carpenter, Erica writes songs
filled with sharply detailed portraits of the American landscape and the lives
lived there. All Music Guide noted that her songs “combine the literary
sensitivity of New England with the spiritual vision of the American West."
Erica’s music ranges in style from contemporary folk to country and
bluegrass. Her voice is rich and warm, often conversational in style. Both
inspiring and entertaining, she draws upon her experience in the performing
arts, combined with her lifelong passion for environmental studies, cultural
history and spirituality to provide relevant educational links between her songs
and topics which are important in land conservation today. Her unique,
compelling, transformative concerts and workshops are designed to foster the
emotional connection between people and place, awakening the sense of engagement
needed to participate in land stewardship today. Her concerts provide songs and
stories that resonate with her listeners, evoking their own sense of
relationship to place. Her hands-on workshop “The Soulful Landscape” provides
opportunities for individuals to access, articulate and express their own
stories of connection to place. Her work has received much critical acclaim,
"Insightful, imaginative
songs...her imagery can nail down relationships in a single verse."
The Washington Post
"Her voice and lyrics are beautifully expressive....a Major Talent."
The
Boston Herald
"Too often in contemporary folk music, there's a sense of infused self
importance that can make it abrasive, frightfully unapologetic and difficult to
endear. But when Wheeler sings, she does so as much for her audience or the
listener at home as she does for herself. And there's no doubt that what she has
to say is imaginative and valuable. Each song comes across as more a gift from
Wheeler to you than as some trophy with a killer hook that another artist might
thrust in your face as some testament to his or her greatness. Wheeler's songs
don't need the extra attention because they are some of the best you've heard
right out of the gate. While folksingers are quickly becoming a dime a dozen and
music writers exhaust the world's supply of adjectives to describe them, Erica
Wheeler is busy painting her wings and inventing new reasons for the rest of us
to turn our ears towards something beautiful, subtle and extraordinarily
insightful. Just listen"
Albuquerque Weekly Alibi. Come
experience a wonderful evening of Erica's music. Tickets $10 in advance $12 at the door.
Reservations strongly recommended Tel: (207) 963-5557
Thursday,
September 13th, 7:30 p.m. Cynthia Simonds author of Fresh Maine Salads and
Superb Maine Soups - two great books published by Down East Press, will be
treating us to a demonstration of her culinary expertise, come ready to add some
new tricks to your own repertoire of favorite dishes. Cynthia's
innovative, delicious salad go way beyond vegetables and way beyond being mere
side dishes! Cynthia Simonds shows us how to think of salads as the feature of a
meal. For example, a scrumptious salad, combined with fresh bagels or bread
topped by one of Cynthia's savory spreads, makes a superb brunch. Her book
Fresh Maine Salads includes recipes for delicious dressings and garnishes
as well as the salads themselves, and one of the appendixes lists sources for
many of the ingredients. Cynthia's books have received rave reviews
"Simonds's writing style is warm and descriptive, a bit like having ... a
favorite chef on hand giving hints and guiding the reader through the recipe."
The Free Press, Rockland, Maine; "A wonderful Maine cookbook....
Inventive ... tasty recipes." --Harpswell Anchor, Harpswell, Maine.
Cynthia Simonds a self described "foodie" from an early age, she turned her
passion into an avocation by starting a catering business to pay for college
tuition, but really she cooks for just the joy of it. From her home base in
Newcastle, Maine, she also operates her custom fiber design business, Simonds
Originals, and directs the Positive Matters Foundation. Admission is free
with 100% of all donations going to support The Positive Matters Foundation's
Holiday Wishes Program that purchases gifts for children in Maine. Seat
reservations strongly recommended. Tel. (207) 963-5557
Come visit our Art Gallery in the historic hall
showcasing Maine fine art and photography. Exhibits by Deane and Oris Folsom,
Eleanor Patton, Craig Snapp, Normand Turcotte and other local and visiting
artists. Enjoy our selection of original works in oils, watercolors, pastels and
prints, from classic to contemporary, specializing in local scenes. Open daily
in season.
Details of previous events are still available here
    
Please
visit our information source front page for more information on
our peninsula and Oceanside Meadows Inn.

To see what the newspapers and guide books have
said about our inn and to see our rate guide please follow this
link. Please call us if you would like
any information or to make a reservation, and do visit this new
site again where we hope to show you more of Oceanside Meadows
Inn the Institute and our local area.
Your hosts, Ben and Sonja Walter-Sundaram, look forward to welcoming you.
Oceanside Meadows Inn P.O. Box
90, Prospect Harbor, Maine 04669
Map and Directions to our Innstitute
Tel: (207) 963 5557 Fax: (207)
963 5928 Email: oceaninn@oceaninn.com
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