The Pop!Tech conference, held annually in Camden, Maine, is rapidly expanding beyond a “big think” gathering of academics, journalists, scientists, and innovation gurus. It’s becoming a magnet for corporate executives, too, who are trying to answer questions such as those posed by Pop!Tech’s curator, Andrew Zolli, in his opening remarks: “Is reinvention possible? Can technology save us? What is the next social contract?”
Even in the downturn, when corporations are curbing travel budgets to trade shows, employees from such diverse companies as Genentech, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Nike, Microsoft, and AT&T were in attendance. There were more corporate sponsors than ever this year, including Nike and Microsoft, who were new to sponsorship this year.
Attendees listened to acoustic guitar and soulful songs sung by Malaysian musician Zee Avi, and watched while artist Chris Jordan showed disturbing photos of dead baby albatrosses whose corpses revealed stomachs full of plastic bottle caps—intended to motivate people to understand the consequences of pollution and garbage.
Michael Pollan who has fundamentally changed the way many of us understand what we eat, how it’s made, and how it gets to us, spoke on whether a vegan in a Hummer has a lighter carbon footprint than a beef eater in a Prius – it was fascinating.
Speaking of food, the preparation for the conference attendees was intense and interesting. If you didn’t attend this year’s conference, you can get the flavor of the conference and the food preparation by viewing the short video below.
Peaks Island is the most populous island in Casco Bay. It is part of the city of Portland and is approximately 5 km (3 mi) from downtown. The island became a popular summer destination in the late 19th century, when it was known as the Coney Island of Maine, home to hotels, cottages, theaters, and amusement parks.
Hollywood film director John Ford was known as “The Mayor of Peaks Island” because of his great affinity for the island. He vacationed there from boyhood through the early 1960s, worked as an usher at the Gem Theater and was a deckhand on the Casco Bay Lines ferries in his youth.
During World War II, the island was home to a large military defense installation, including the largest structure, Battery Steele, which housed two 16-inch (406 mm) guns. When Battery Steele’s guns were first tested, windows on the opposite side of the island shattered.
Today Peaks is a popular destination for vacationers and day trips from Portland via the ferries of the Casco Bay Lines. For a glimpse of the island and some of its attractions, you can view the short video below.
Oysters, best known for their reputed aphrodisiac powers, have been a favorite of food lovers throughout the centuries, beginning with the Roman emperors who paid for them by their weight in gold.
Oysters have always been linked with love. When Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, sprang forth from the sea on an oyster shell and promptly gave birth to Eros, the word “aphrodisiac” was born. The dashing lover Casanova used to start a meal by eating a dozen or more oysters.
The Damariscotta River’s Pemaquid oyster beds are farm raised and produce what are considered some of the best tasting oysters in the world. To celebrate our valuable crop and to benefit the Edward A. Myers Marine Conservation Fund and Maine’s working waterfront, the community throws an annual fundraising event that shouldn’t be missed.
At the Pemaquid Oyster Festival visitors can enjoy food, music, historical displays, educational exhibits, and boat rides out to the oyster beds. If you’ve never been to the Oyster Festival and would like to get a feel for this annual event, just view the short video below.
To see the recent New York Times slide show entitled, “Maine on the Half Shell” click here.
To see the related NY Times article entitled, “Where Maine Comes Out of Its Other Shell” click here.
Voted one of the top 10 Great Streets in America for 2008, by the American Planning Association (APA), “Commercial Street stands out for its unique character, strong sense of place, and mixture of uses involving marine and fishing industries, tourism, retail trade, commercial offices, and residential housing.” The street “…blurs the distinctions among working waterfront, downtown Main Street, and historic tourist district. It is a place where moored fishing boats, lobster pots and fishing gear, and crying seagulls mix with downtown office employees going to work, residents living in dockside condominiums, and tourists visiting restaurants and boutique shops. It’s a dynamic yet precariously balanced amalgam crafted through years of debate and compromise.” For more on the APA’s review click here.
I live here, so it’s hard to maintain a detached perspective. The success of Commercial Street, the Old Port shopping district, and the cities reputation as one of the best cities for foodies in the northeast has made life in the warmer months seem a bit like living in DC, where I lived before returning to Maine. The difference is the exciting mix of sophistication and downeast authenticity, with it’s concomitant lack of pretense, makes this a wonderful and comfortable place to live, work, and vacation. All of this probably explains why Portland has been among the choicest ports of call for cruise lines. On the day I was filming the Queen Victoria (the newest of the Cunard liners) was in port. As you’ll see in the video below, she’s a great looking ship. For more on The Queen click here.
Belfast has been voted one of the ten coolest small towns in America in a Budget Travel Magazine survey. The towns listed in the top ten have fewer then 10,000 people, but can rival larger cities when it comes to good food, culture, and quality of life. Belfast sits at the northern tip of the western shore of Penobscot Bay, and is about a 20-minute drive north of Camden. The town is just off of Route 1 and many tourists miss it, giving the town a very laid-back feel. The relative lack of tourists during the prime season combined with lower real estate prices is helping to create an artist’s enclave in Belfast – and not just painters, but jewelry makers, glassblowers, and weavers. Every Friday morning from May through October there’s a farmer’s market that attracts a wide variety of local organic farmers, bakers, artists, and musicians.
If you missed Belfast during your travels in Maine, you can get a sense of this picturesque village by viewing the video below. We hope the video will entice you to stop by on your next visit to the mid-coast.
The Maine Lobster Festival (MLF) is held in late July each year in Maine’s mid-coast region along the western side of Penobscot Bay. The area is one of the centers of Maine’s lobster industry, and stretches along the coast from Belfast in the north to Owl’s Head near Thomaston in the south. The region includes and showcases the communities of Camden and Rockland (where the festival is actually held in Harbor Park).
I’ve lived in the state (off and on) for a combined total of 26 years, but have never been to the Lobster Festival, and this year marks the 62nd year of the gala event. There were a number of good reasons to go this year to witness the festival, not the least of which is the fact that we have two Resort/Inn properties in the Camden area. Also, Lobsters and Tourism are big industries in Maine, and here was a chance to experience an event intended to highlight their intersection. To be honest though, I had recently finished reading the late David Foster Wallace’s account of the festival in his essay entitled, “Consider the Lobster” which you can find in Wallace’s hilarious book of essays by the same title.
Foster Wallace also wrote a book of short stories entitled, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again”. I considered borrowing that title for this particular blog, but thought better of it. By viewing the attached video account of the MLF, you can actually do a virtual visit in less then nine minutes, and get a feel for the extravaganza.