Gift Wrapping at the Bangor Mall

Heading to the Bangor Mall for some holiday shopping? Stop by the gift wrapping center to have them wrapped before you leave!

UCP of Northeastern Maine is calling on volunteers to help with the wrapping. All proceeds benefit the important work that this group does for our community. It's a worthy cause -- and it's fun!

UCP is looking for individuals as well as groups to volunteer in three-hour slots from now until Christmas Eve. They're there every day of the week so you can volunteer more than once if you want to. If you are interested in helping out, contact Tish Pendergast at 992-0606 or email her at tish.pendergast@ucpofmaine.org.

Holiday Open House

One Cumberland Place, the home of Bangor Metro, Maine Ahead, and Real Maine Weddings magazines, is hosting a Holiday Open House on November 18 from 4:30 to 8:30 pm.

Come do some holiday shopping from the following vendors:
Pampered Chef
Scentsy Candles
Tastefully Simple
Anthony John's Salon
Miche Bags
Tupperware
Lia Sophia Jewelry
Sharon's Stained Glass & Crafts
Dogn'i Apparel
A Body in Knead
Mary Kay
and many more...

You can also purchase Bangor Metro and Maine Ahead gift subscriptions for your friends and family. It's the gift that gives back 10 times a year!

There will also be door prizes and refreshments. Stop by after work and let us put a little jingle in your step before Thanksgiving.

STYX TIX WINNER!

A big congrats go out to Tom Quinn of Bangor today. His impersonation of Billy Idol won him two tickets to see STYX in concert at the Bangor Auditorium.
Rock on!

STYX TIX!

Do you know who these hunk-a-licious men are? They're the band members of STYX, the American rock band who brought you "Come Sail Away," "Mr. Roboto," and "The Best of Times" in the mid 1970s-1980s. And while you thought this band went the way of parachute pants and polyester—they're back!

Styx will be performing at the Bangor Auditorium on Tuesday, November 2 at 7:30 pm. And we've got a pair of tickets to give to one lucky winner. All you have to do to win is send your best photo from the 1970s or 1980s to melanie@bangormetro.com by FRIDAY, October 29th at NOON. We'll pick our favorite to win.

Hey, we lived through this time period too -- and we promise not to judge you on your awesome photo.

Venetian Masquerade Ball

Last Friday, St Joe's Hospital held their annual fundraiser, disguised as a Venetian Masquerade Ball. The Bangor Civic Center was decked out to the nines. Delicious food was provided by Thistles Restaurant, The Fiddlehead Restaurant, and Winterport Winery. There were wonderful auction items donated by area residents and businesses, too. If you didn't get the chance to go to the ball, take a gander at what you missed! Photos by Shane Leonard.

2010 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

By Melanie Brooks

I was so excited when we got our plaque for this year's Komen Race for the Cure. As soon as I can remember to bring in my hammer and nails from home it's going right up on our wall in the lobby where it belongs.

The Bangor Race broke the attendance record for the fifth year in a row. Over 5,600 participants helped raise over $300,000.00. THANK YOU to everyone who walk/ran/jogged/danced over the finish line.

Photo by Scott Wardwell

Scott Wardwell was on hand taking photos of the event and more of them can be found at Komen Maine and even more on Scott's website.Photo by Scott Wardwell

And while it was mainly a fundraiser, it was still a race. Congrats go out to Louie Luchini, the overall winner, Elizabeth Brunton, the first female finisher, and all of the survivors who ran–you are all amazing:

Laura Carey, Terri Coolong, Joy Stevens, Kathy Fogler, Valerie Moran, Karen Boudreau, Diane Hynes, Patricia Spencer, Jane Black, Dodi Saucier, Kathryn Walker, Jane Sawyer, P.J. McCluskey, Mary Talley, Julia Mathies, Mary Jeanne Madore, Teresa Steele, Merry Shepherd, Sherry Applebee, Pam Parker, Sally Swallow, Astrid Raymond, Kathy Hopkins, Joyce White, Sheri Fuller, and Lorna Ladd.

The "Black Ghost" of Maine

By Melanie Brooks
Illustration by Brad Eden

In honor of the hunting guide who was mauled by a bear earlier this week, I'd like to tell you about a neat event the Bangor Land Trust has planned for next weekend...a Bear Walk!

Gubernatorial-palooza!

By Melanie Brooks

It's nearly mid-September already and the elections are right around the corner! How did this happen?! If you're like many other busy Mainers, you probably haven't had a lot of time to ponder who you are going to vote for this November...but that can be changed.

ELEVEN organizations are teaming up with Bangor Greendrinks to host a gubernatorial forum on Maine's quality of place at the Bangor Opera House on Tuesday, September 21st. Join Greendrinkers for a pre-forum pint at 5 pm in the lobby and stay for the debate, which will start at 6 pm.

Democratic candidate, Libby Mitchell, along with the trio of Independent candidates, Eliot Cutler, Shawn Moody, and Kevin Scott have confirmed their attendance. We're not quite sure about Paul LePage yet but regardless, it's your chance to hear how our next governor intends to protect and promote Maine's productive landscapes, vital downtowns, distinct cultural heritage, and more.

Participating hosts: GrowSmart Maine, Maine Development Foundation's Downtown Center, Maine Downtown Coalition, Maine Conservation Voters Education Fund, Maine Farmland Trust, Maine Preservation, Trust for Public Land, Maine Rural Partners, Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine, Bicycle Coalition of Maine, and Healthy Community Coalition.

Like all Bangor Greendrinks events, this is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there! For more information check out Bangor Greendrinks on Facebook and become a fan while you're at it.

Tim McGraw Lobster Bake

By Melanie Brooks

The good folks at McLaughlin's Seafood teamed up with Bangor Metro to host a killer lobster bake before the Tim McGraw concert on Friday. The day was gorgeous, the seafood delicious, and the company was wonderful.

We'd like to thank the other sponsors of this event -- we couldn't have done it without them!

McLaughlin Seafood for the delicious spread; Waterfront Concerts and Live Nation New England for the tickets; Granville Rental & Party Plus for the tent, tables, and chairs; Cellardoor Winery and Wicked Whoopies for filling our gift baskets; and the Greater Bangor Convention & Visitors Bureau for helping us pull it all together on the waterfront.

More pictures of the event after the jump...

Bangor Greendrinks

Bangor Greendrinks is at it again...this time at the University of Maine Museum of Art in Bangor tonight from 5:30 to 8 pm. If you haven't been to one of these fun events yet -- now's the time to check it out. Not only is it going to be in a unique setting tonight, it's going to be chock full of interesting people. Bangor Land Trust will be there giving out information and Ann Marie Orr from Ann Marie's Kitchen will be providing the snacks. And the DRINKS! Of course there will be drinks.

Bangor Metro featured Greendrinks in our August issue. Check out the story below!

Cool Sounds Concert Series: RetroRockerz

By: Melinda Hart






RetroRockerz drew in crowds of people for the last Cool Sounds Concert Series and Outdoor Market in Downtown Bangor – bringing in the largest audience of the series for its last week.

Cool Sounds Concert Series: Banjo Dan and the Mid-Nite Plowboys

By: Melinda Hart




Cool Sounds Concert Series brought Banjo Dan and the Mid-Nite Plowboys to West Market Square this week – with the sun pushing the rain away once again!

Cool Sounds Concert Series: Teen Jamboree

By: Melinda Hart







This week’s Cool Sounds Concert Series showcased the Bangor area’s talented youth with the Teen Jamboree! Four acts shared the stage last night, each bringing their own unique sound.

Bangor Greendrinks at the Sea Dog

Last night's Bangor Greendrinks was a success, thanks to the help of the Sea Dog staff. We had delicious appetizers to munch on, good music to listen to, and $2 drinks. Can't beat that! If you didn't make it this time, join us next month, August 10th, at the University of Maine Museum of Art. It's a beautiful venue that will be filled with great people. For more information, check out Bangor Greendrinks on Facebook. Read on to see photos from the event...

Cool Sounds Concert Series: Evergreen

By: Melinda Hart

Evergreen had listeners on their feet last Thursday at the Cool Sounds Concert Series and Outdoor Market with blues, bluegrass, and swing!

A four part band, Evergreen is comprised of Steve Chiasson, Chris Prickitt, Nel Kennedy and Joe Kennedy. Their performance spanned old time country music, bluegrass, blues and folk.

Star Power

By Melanie Brooks

A couple of weeks ago I had an idea. Wouldn't it be cool if we had a way to put local people on fake covers of Bangor Metro? Wouldn't it be cool if we had some sort of cover frame that we could take to events? I decided to pick my dad's brain about it. He's a carpenter by trade and can make just about anything you can imagine.

We talked over what I wanted and how he thought it would work and he whipped up a fake Bangor Metro cover frame in no time. We decided to debut it at last night's Business After Hours at The Charles Inn.


We had a ball with it! Pictured here on the left is David Whitehill and Jessica Bloch Whitehill. On the right is Jessica Sleeth and Katy England.

For more fun cover shots, check out our facebook page. We'll be bringing our life sized cover frame to the next Bangor Greendrinks, which will be held after work on Tuesday, July 13th at the Sea Dog on the Bangor waterfront. We hope to see you there!

Cool Sounds Concert Series: Blue Northern

By: Melinda Hart




Blue Northern brought bluegrass to Bangor for the fourth week of the Cool Sounds Concert Series, performing to families and their dogs under a rainbow in Pickering Square.

In Your Face..

Illustration by Mark Ricketts
Text by Melanie Brooks

No, I'm not trying to be mean or sassy...In Your Face is a unique cartoon exhibit on display at Boyd Place in Bangor! You might think that it's weird for an independent senior living facility to host an art exhibit -- but they hold them all the time. Their most recent exhibit featured dozens of handmade quilts by area quilters that were out of this world exquisite!

But back to the cartoons....

Cool Sounds Concert Series: Flash! In The Pans

By: Melinda Hart

The wind and rain ended in time for the third week of this year’s Cool Sounds Concert Series in Pickering Square. Flash! In The Pans performed and Court Street filled with vendors on both sides.

Cemetery and Ghost Tours

Are you a history buff? Or maybe someone looking for fun in the Bangor area? Look no further than Downtown Bangor. The Bangor Museum and Center for History is hosting the Mount Hope Cemetery and Ghost Lamp Tours two days each month from June to October.