Veggies to Table’s Dîner en Blanc raises substantial seed money

Mainers who can afford to get into a bidding war for a week in a French villa and Mainers struggling to afford food for their families might as well be living in different worlds entirely. Standing in the gap between those worlds is Newcastle resident Erica Berman, who traded in her life as a boutique…

The Third Place honors community leaders at Black Excellence Awards

Black trailblazers in a variety of fields, including politics, justice, education and outdoor recreation, were honored Aug. 1 at the Maine Black Excellence Awards at Caswell Farm in Gray. The annual gathering is the signature event of the Portland-based nonprofit The Third Place, which connects Maine’s Black professionals, students and entrepreneurs to social, professional and…

Beer and history lovers mingle at Brownstone Brews & Bites

Two hundred people attended an annual summer lawn party July 18 co-hosted by Allagash Brewing Co. and Victoria Mansion as a fundraiser for the 19th-century home-turned-museum on Danforth Street in Portland.   “Every penny raised through this event goes right into our mission,” said Victoria Mansion Executive Director Tim Brosnihan. “And we have some major…

Portland Stage pulls back the curtain for gala guests

This year’s Portland Stage Spring Gala was a bit like an open house, giving guests a chance to focus the theater lights, swap out scenery, perform a quick costume change and direct a scene. “Tonight is building constituencies as much as it about raising money,” said board president Todd Nicholson. “It’s really about making people…

Blue Wrap Runway showcases Partners for World Health’s resourcefulness

Every aspect of Partners for World Health’s Blue Wrap Runway Fashion two-night event, May 15 and 16 at The Good Theater at Stevens Square in Portland was mission-focused: The fashion was inspired by 20 of the 34 countries where Partners for World Health has shipped supplies or gone on medical missions. And the garments were…

Imagination Ball gives Children’s Museum a financial and emotional boost

Having covered nonprofit fundraisers weekly for the past 13 years, I have seen hundreds of auctions where ordinary people raise their hands — and their bid numbers — to protect the organizations and initiatives that matter to them. Never is that impulse stronger than when they feel that something they love, like the Children’s Museum…

EqualityMaine’s 40th anniversary gala was a rainbow of emotions

EqualityMaine, a nonprofit dedicated to creating a fair and just society for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Mainers, celebrated its 40th anniversary April 26 at Brick South on Thompson’s Point. Picking a high point of the four-hour gala isn’t easy because there were many. Like when singer-songwriter Cidny Bullens — who was Cindy Bullens…

Opera Maine goes dark in anticipation of ‘Sweeney Todd’

Opera Maine, the state’s only professional opera company producing fully staged and orchestrated works, launched its 30th anniversary season May 1 with a wickedly witty gala inspired by its upcoming mainstage production, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Every detail of the Ocean Gateway event was delightfully dark, from the blood red swirls…