Area Arts

First Annual Fiddlehead Art & Cultural Festival to be Held May 14 and 15 at Pineland Campus

New Gloucester-- On May 14 and 15, Fiddlehead Center for the Arts will hold its first annual Fiddlehead Art & Cultural Festival, a two-day international celebration.

Opening ceremonies start at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 14 with a puppet workshop by Shoestring Puppet Theater that is open to all ages. A participatory street parade begins at 5:45 p.m. and is followed by a special musical treat. At 6:30 p.m. that evening will be a high-powered performance by Mango Blue, an Afro-Latin funk band from New York City that energizes audiences of all ages.

Saturday's schedule includes performances by popular acts such as Flamenco dancers, master drummer Shamou and nationally recognized storyteller Antonio Rocha. The Festival concludes on Saturday evening with a performance by Rumbafrica, Boston's premier African dance band.
The "Global Village" will feature a blend of international performances, education, and hands-on activities representing China, Italy, West Africa, North America (native American & Folk), as well as Celtic, Acadian, Nordic and other regions.

Festival attendees will enjoy a full schedule of performances by dancers, puppeteers, actors, and storytellers, as well as wandering acts such as mimes, jugglers, and stilt walkers. Hands-on activities for children of all ages include clay, language, music and art. The International Food Court will be open Friday evening and all day Saturday with food vendors offering a selection of international fare and over 25 artisans will be selling their wares.
All events and activities will be under tents and in the Fiddlehead Center for the Arts building, so the festival will be held rain or shine. Visit www.fiddleheadcenter.org for discounted, two-day festival tickets ($15.00, which includes special parking), as well as more information about the festival. People can also call (207) 688-2244 with questions.

Alice Tweedie Exhibition:

Alice Tweedie will present a solo exhibition entitled "Puppetry, Dreams, and Abstraction" from May 2 to May 30, 2004. An opening reception will be held Thursday, May 6th from 5 to 7 pm. The Exhibition will be in the Lewis Gallery of the Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Square, Portland. Gallery hours are M, W, F, 9 am to 6 pm, T, TH from 12 noon to 9 pm, and Sat from 9 am to 5 pm.

Guest professionals to appear in Dance USM!
Gorham--Special guest performers will appear each night during the annual "Dance USM!" concerts directed by Maria Tzianabos and presented by the University of Southern Maine Department of Theatre April 29 - May 2. Appearing on different nights are professional dancers Carol Dilley, Thursday; Harold Philbrook, Friday; Jill Eng, Saturday; and Lisa Hicks and Company, and Nancy Salmon, Sunday.

In addition, the concerts will feature guest choreographers plus student choreographers and dancers performing original, energetic pieces in a variety of styles. Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29 through Saturday, May 1, and at 5 p.m. Sunday, May 2 in Russell Hall on the USM Gorham campus. Tickets are $10 for the general public, $7 for seniors, and $5 for students. Call the Theatre Box Office at 780-5151 for reservations and more information.

Broadway from the Heart
The entire ensemble for Broadway-LA from the Heart gathers for one last run-through for the fundraiser being sponsored by Community Little Theatre and Central Maine Medical Center. The two hour event being staged at Lewiston Middle School, Central Ave on April 24 at 8 p.m. and April 25 at 2 p.m. will feature familiar and well loved songs from musicals such as Guys and Dolls, Cabaret, Phantom, Evita, Damn Yankees and Anything Goes. The show will benefit the theatre's Endowment Fund and the hospital's Cardiac Center.

Tickets are $20 and available by calling the box office at 783-0958 or accessing the theatre's website at www.laclt.com. L to R are Choreographer Eileen Messina, Paul Stickney, Marie Dittmer, Michelle Mahon, Dr. Bruce Condit, Cynthia O'Neil, Dr. Ron Bouffard, Director Vince Knue, Renee Davis, and Musical Director Keith Witherell. Rachel Morin Photo.

College premieres film on images carved by Native American shamans in Maine: "Song of the Drum"
On Monday, April 26, Saint Joseph's College will premiere Maine's first public showing of "Song of the Drum," a unique new film about early images carved in stone by Native American shamans in Maine. Passamaquoddy songs and music accompany the footage of these petroglyphs, which were carved as metaphors of the spirit quest or to help memorize chants.
The documentary explains what the images symbolized and how they changed over time, including the impact of early European contact, particularly with missionaries. Ancestors of the Passamaquoddy tribe began carving many of the images about 3,000 years ago.

Saint Joseph's professor Dr. Ray Gerber photographed and edited the film. He also filmed actual wildlife depicted in some of the petroglyphs, which appear mostly in eastern Maine along Machias Bay.

The film was written by Mark Hedden, an archaeologist semi-retired from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, and an expert in prehistoric petroglyphs. It is narrated by Wayne Newell, a Passamaquoddy educator at the Indian Township School in Pleasant Point.

Members of the Passamaquoddy tribe supported and participated in producing "Song of the Drum." Saint Joseph's College, several foundations, the National Park Service, the Maine Humanities Council and the Maine Archaeological Society helped to fund the making of the film.

"Song of the Drum" premieres in the Student Lounge at the Alfond Center on campus at 5 p.m., April 26. There is no charge and the public is invited to attend. For more information or directions, call 893-7723.