In recognition of Maine’s bicentennial, Bowdoin College and the town of Brunswick are sponsoring a community bean supper 4–6 p.m., Saturday, March 14, amid the anniversary weekend of statehood.
There will be music by the band Pejepscot Station and a presentation at 5 p.m. by the Pejepscot History Center (PHC) and Maine State Music Theatre.
“The short program features a story-like journey back in time to the statehood era, bringing early 20th-century Maine and the vote for independence to life for attendees,” said PHC Executive Director Larissa Vigue Picard. “Through costumed interpreters, first-person perspectives, and historical documents, audience members will be able to ‘see’ 200 years into the past, when Maine finally broke away from Massachusetts.”
Rare collection items owned by PHC — including a March 16, 1820 broadside proclaiming Maine’s independence by William King, who would become the state’s first governor — will be on display. A slideshow tracing Maine history up to the moment of statehood will play during the event. Early 19th-century children’s crafts and games, run by PHC volunteers, will also take place throughout the afternoon.
The bean supper is being held in conjunction with a guided tour through three Maine-themed exhibitions at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art; the tour begins at 3 p.m.
“The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is excited to participate in the festivities surrounding the bicentennial of Maine statehood,” said Museum of Art Co-Director Frank Goodyear. “We welcome the public to join us for a tour of three new exhibitions about Maine’s past and present.”
- Rufus Porter’s Curious World: Art and Invention in America, 1815–1860 celebrates the artist and inventor Rufus Porter (1792–1884), an imaginative polymath and entrepreneur curious about art, science, and communication technologies.
- Maine’s Lithographic Landscapes: Town & City Views, 1830-1870 explores the history of Maine town and city views published during the first 50 years of statehood through major lithographs and several related paintings.
- Fast Fashion/Slow Art features films, videos, installations, and performances by an international group of emerging and established contemporary artists and filmmakers.
The public is welcome. The price of the bean supper is $7.50 for adults; $4.50 for children; the museum exhibition tour is free of charge. Vegetarian options will be available.
Register by March 5 online at bowdo.in/beansupper.
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