Tricia Quirk, Realtor and Maria Baeza, MSW

Tricia attended the pre-party for the American Folk Festival hosted on the Bangor Waterfront since 2002. Tricia got an opportunity to meet with many great supporters of the festival including Master Social Worker, Maria Baeza (pictured above).

Quirk Chevrolet and the Chevy Volt

Check out the new 2011 Chevy Volt this weekend on the waterfront at the American Folk Festival. The Chevy Volt can travel a 40 mile radius per charge and then switches over to gasoline. It takes 8 hours to fully charge on a 110 volt outlet or 4 hours on a 220 volt outlet. In this photo is Tricia’s husband Bob (left) and his brothers Jack (middle) & Tom (right) of Quirk Chevrolet.

454 State Street, Bangor

Beautiful home built in 1902 and designed by Wilford Mansur is situated on a 1.2 in-town acre lot with remarkable landscaping. Walking distance to the medical center, downtown restaurants and library, this extraordinary home offers the best of all worlds. Carved golden oak three story grand staircase, 17 leaded and stained glass windows, marble pantry and bathroom features, 8 distinct working fireplaces, 3 with remote control gas inserts, 7 bedrooms, 4  baths, a carriage house with loft and space for 6 vehicles, original tin ceiling in grooms room, & development potential are only a few amenities that this exquisite home has to offer!

Take a visual tour of this amazing home!

10 Pine Ledge Rd Bangor

Best Value in Bangor!

10 Pine Ledge Rd., Bangor is located in a great subdivision just off Ohio Street. Property offers 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, fantastic 1 acre lot complete with gazebo, in-ground pool, and stone patio.  Funtional layout combined with solid construction make this home truly a steal at $229,000. MLS# 976453.

Click here to take a visual tour of this home

Our city has a lot of culture packed into its Downtown.  It is alive with activity nearly every night of the week.  The last few posts were about some of the music that we can enjoy with the FREE concert series and Outdoor Market on Thursday nights.

But this post is about something a little different – MUSEUMS! At one of Main Street there is our wonderful children’s museum, that is very interactive and activity focused and adults love it as much as the Kids do!  There are summer camps and wonderful exhibits.  The exhibits are on topics like Nature Trails, Sounds Abound (for music lovers) and Artscape (for young artists) and many more.  When the slogan is “TOO MUCH FUN!” They aren’t kidding!  The hours are Tuesday – Saturday 9:30 – 5:00, Sunday 12:00 – 5:00.  Closed Mondays except school holidays and they are closed 4th of July. The phone number is: 207.262.7200, the address is 74 MAIN STREET – but you cannot miss the Frog Clock that “rib-bits” every hour!

The University of Maine Art Museum is also located in Downtown.  Across from City Hall, this wonderful boutique art museum is offering FREE admission!  What is showing this summer is Ceremonies of Mud New Paintings by Alfredo Gisholt, Both Sides of the Camera Photographs from the Collection of Judith Ellis Glickman and Cloudscapes A Selection from the Permanent Collection it runs June 25 – September 18, 2010.   The museum is located at 40 HARLOW STREET
BANGOR ME phone: 207.561.3350, the hours are Monday thru Saturday 10:00-5:00, but they are closed on the upcoming Monday, July 5, in observance of the 4th of July.

You can visit the museums and then enjoy a bite to eat at one of our Downtown eateries, 2 hours free parking in the Parking Garage or the daily rate is a very reasonable $4.50! Bob and I hope to see you downtown soon!

Bob and I are big fans of the Collins Center for the Arts.

The Collins Center for the Arts is located on the campus of University of Maine, which is about 15 minutes north of Bangor and this summer is just packed with great shows that truly has mass appeal to all interests.

The Collins Center for the Arts is a wonderful facility that we support in any way we can.  Our Kentucky Derby event in May was the benefactor of the fundraiser that we held that day.

Bangor has lots of options of music, open air sounds (Cool Sounds Series) this summer, the Folk Festival (link) in August and our world class Bangor Symphony Orchestra and now new acts are being scheduled on the Waterfront.   Alan Jackson is all ready scheduled for September !

Every day,  Bangor and our surrounding areas become more vibrant, exciting and “the place to be” for a variety of entertainment, many of which is family focused and free of charge!  We look forward to your visit and hope that you may decide to stay!

Try visiting our “Property Listings” so you can get a look and see that you can truly LIVE and PLAY in the same place!

This summer is no exception.  This weekend is the West Market music festival on Saturday, June 5, starting at noon.  Click here for the whole festival itinerary.  And, starting next week, we have the “Cool Sounds” concert series which is held on Thursday evenings from 7-8pm right up until July 29.

It is happening in Bangor. Maine this summer

Click on this link to go to the full schedule.  These concerts are held in Pickering Square and most people bring a lawn chair and a picnic just to enjoy the FREE experience.  It would be hard not to find a few musical groups that you wouldn’t love to hear. It is a great way to get the kids out to burn off some of that extra energy and do a little dancing.

Just a short walk away from the concerts is the Outdoor Market, it is open from 5-8pm,  The Market features specialty foods, local produce and some beautiful items, like handbags, jewelry and ironwork.

So if your family vacation brings you anywhere near Bangor make sure you check the Downtown Bangor website.  We are certain they’ll be something happening Downtown that you won’t want to miss!  If you see Bob and I around there, please stop and say “Hello!”

Your Hosts

And since we all like to socialize in our town, Bob and I have been hosting Kentucky Derby parties for the past 3 years. So we thought to ourselves, “How do we turn this fun into something that would benefit a local charity?”   We print invitations, we open up the doors and people dress up and you would swear you were in Louisville!

John and Linda Rohmann

Great hats, great outfits and great fun!  All proceeds this year went to benefit The Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine in Orono.

For years, we had attended a party at the home of Peter and Diane Hoff to benefit the Fogler library.  3 years ago, the Hoff’s were renovating and we offered our home for a place to have the event.  We co-hosted the event for the first two years. This was the first year without the Hoff’s so we decided to benefit our passion The Collins Center for the Arts.

This year the weather was beautiful in Bangor (unlike that torrential rain at Churchill Downs), so beautiful fashions were abound and of course the signature “Hat Parade”!

"And they are off!"

People tend to gather around the pool table to watch the big screen TV and the energy is amazing  it was a wonderful time and we would love to thank all that contributed!

Pink Tulip Project, Bangor, Maine

A few years ago, Ann Marie Orr,   hosted a luncheon in her home to introduce the Pink Tulip Project to Bangor Business Women.  The luncheon was tasty and fun to network, but the purpose was to raise awareness about breast cancer.  Robin Whitten, a breast cancer survivor shared her vision of the pink tulip project that she founded in 2006.  After being diagnosed, Robin planted tulips in the fall with the promise to herself she would see them bloom in the spring.  Since then, Robin took that promise and passed it around to many communities in Maine including ours in Bangor.  We organized high schools, businesses, the University of Maine in Orono to support the fundraising effort in the Bangor Region.  These funds directly benefit the Maine Cancer Foundation.

Last Fall, we can proudly report that we have more than 70 gardens statewide and there were 30,000 bulbs reserved and more than $120,000 raised!  Bangor alone has 5 community gardens and more than 3,000 bulbs.  Many private homeowners city and region wide have also done there part!  The pink tulips are everywhere.

So why pink tulips?
The symbolism is hope.

After a Maine winter, when spring arrives, the pink tulip shows us that from a small bulb, (which has a donation of $1.00) we all can help in finding a cure.  It is pretty stunning when you come around a corner and there is a whole garden of PINK beauty greeting you.  And if you have or had breast cancer, or are close to someone that has, it reminds us of the hope that this research contribution brings.

Join me, in supporting the Maine Cancer Foundation and the Pink Tulip Project) by creating a Garden Team or by donating to this very important project.

Watch Ann Marie’s message on our YouTUBE Channel!  We have one video with her working and one with her promoting the project!