Nicole Thibodeau of North Yarmouth knows how important help and support are in raising a special-needs child. Her 13-year-old son Michael has Down syndrome, and doesn’t have a lot of opportunities to socialize with or play with peers. Thibodeau figured that if she was lamenting the lack of social interaction and recreational opportunities for her […]
Ray Routhier
Staff Writer
Ray Routhier has written about pop culture, movies, TV, music and lifestyle trends for the Portland Press Herald since 1993. He is continually fascinated with stories that show the unique character of Maine’s people and places. He’s written about why so many businesses use the made-up word “Mainely” in their names, how you can trace Portland’s history through its various smells and why Mainers lament the loss of Portland-made B&M baked beans. He’s interviewed a wide variety of filmmakers, actors, musicians and authors, including Patrick Dempsey, Tony Shalhoub, Richard Russo, Tess Gerritsen, Tony Bennett, Anna Kendrick, and Stephen King. His passions, besides writing, include baseball history, old movies and “Jeopardy!” A native of Manchester, New Hampshire, he graduated with a degree in political science from the University of New Hampshire. He lives in South Portland with his wife and two children.
Posted inLife & Culture
‘Sing-Off’: It’s on to the finalefor Maine singer’s group
Michael Odokara-Okigbo’s dream of a pop music career was hanging in the balance for a very long, painful moment Monday night on NBC’s “The Sing-Off.”
One judge had already said Odokara-Okigbo and his a cappella group, the Dartmouth Aires, should go home. …
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Posted inLife & Culture
Rugged individualists
You’ll be floored by two unique rug collections featuring the work of Maine’s Angela Adams and Dahlov Ipcar.
Posted inUncategorized
Off Beat: It may be a puppet show, but it’s really not for kids
What if King Friday — the long-reigning puppet monarch of the kiddie TV show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” — came upon hard times? What if he was now living in squalor beneath a vaudeville house, where other strange or eccentric puppets hang out and behave in bizarre ways? That’s the premise behind a puppet show scheduled […]
Posted inNews
New director at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Willilam Cullina has been named new executive director at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.
Posted inLife & Culture
‘The Sing-Off’: Portland singertwo weeks away from a dream
Michael Odokara-Okigbo turns in another standout performance to advance closer to the grand prize.
Posted inLife & Culture
Warming trend in Maine homes
Winter’s approach finds more Mainers considering a growing array of supplemental heating options.
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Off Beat: Group emphasizes joy of dance without club scene distractions
You don’t have to be drunk to dance. There’s a revelation that could have saved many of us a lot of hangovers. And it’s one of the core tenets of a nonprofit Portland group called Ecstatic Dance ME, which has been hosting Sunday-morning dance parties for the past few months. The idea is for people […]
Posted inLife & Culture
Straight talk
Straight No Chaser’s Tyler Trepp tells what it’s been like for the popular a cappella group, in Portland on Tuesday, to try to make it the music biz.