(Image: Painting by Susan Normand)

(Biddeford, ME) Biddeford’s upcoming Final Friday of the Month ArtWalk on Friday, May 25th from 5:00 to 8:00 pm is adding new venues on Saco Island to its monthly event. Under the yellow awnings on Saco Island, located at 110 Main Street, Biddeford artist Patricia Flynn is hosting a grand opening of the new River Birch Gallery in Suite 1105. A collective of artists, including Flynn, Delphine Sherin, Julie Vohs, Jim Cotsis, Holly Brooks, and Rayne Grace Hoke will be showing their work.

Other ArtWalk Venues Include:

Next door to the River Birch Gallery, the Saco River Market will be featuring crafters in addition to prepared foods and locally grown/made produce and goods. The market will run until 7:00 pm.

In Suite 1101, the University College at Saco will be hosting artwork in their lobby.

Back in Biddeford, the North Dam Mill Hallway Gallery will be hosting crafters and the Maine Women in the Arts “Art Gone Wild” running through Monday, July 16th. The Wicker Pigs will provide free entertainment in the lobby. There will also be open studios by Cheryl Lichwell, Nora Tryon, Mullenberg Designs, and dpPlourde Stained Glass.

Lacava, located at 12 Water Street, will be showing work by Susan Normand, an accomplished, self-taught watercolorist from Sanford.

And who doesn’t love buttons? Make a custom button of your own design at Joyful Harvest at 128 Main Street. For just $1, you can create your own work of art and wear it proudly around town. Proceeds go to support the Joyful Harvest after-school program.

Take part in “Knit or Knot” at the Heart of Biddeford at 205 Main Street with free lessons in crochet and finger knitting being offered. Every skill level is welcome.

Join Biddeford High School acoustic jam—if you play an instrument and want to test your chops with others, come down and share with us!

At Engine, drop in on ArtWalk/ArtTalk with the artists from the 2012 Mill-ennial show hosted at Engine. The rest of the show can be seen at the Saco Museum which will be open until 8:00 pm with free admission during ArtWalk. Also, artists from the Maine Craft Association will be displaying their wares in a Trunk Show at Engine where you will be able to see some of Maine’s finest crafts and talk with the artists.

Check the Biddeford ArtWalk website at www.biddefordartwalk.com for up-to-the-minute information on crafters, venue locations, exhibit descriptions and parking. For any other questions, please contact Engine executive director Tammy Ackerman via email at director@feedtheengine.org or by calling 207-229-3560.

(Bar Mills, ME) The feature film, 40 WEST, written by and starring Jennifer Porter, directed by Dana Packard, and featuring legendary entertainer Wayne Newton, was shot entirely in Buxton and Hollis in April and May of 2010 - primarily on a set built in the Saco River Grange Hall. Since its premiere in New York City in October, 2011, the critically acclaimed film has won or been nominated for fifteen US and International awards.

Dan Wood’s documentary chronicles the making of 40 WEST, and includes multiple interviews and great footage of all aspects of the production. After the screening at the Grange Hall, delicious food will be provided by Wayne Tuohey of Cue Culture next door at the White Church. Jennifer, Dana and other members of the cast and crew will be on hand to chat. DVDs of 40 WEST and CDs of Jennifer’s soundtrack will be available for purchase. If you are interested in the nuts and bolts of independent film making, this event is not to be missed!

Tickets are $14 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. For reservations or more information, please call 929-6472.

(Belfast, ME) Waterfall Arts, with the help of a Project M design team, has launched an online fundraising effort at indiegogo.com to cover the cost of needed renovations to the building’s basement, which is also known as the Fallout Shelter. Indiegogo has proven to be an effective way to support specific projects.

The back story of the planned renovations is that early in 2012, a waterline break caused extensive damage to the basement and other parts of Waterfall Arts’ building. The Fallout Shelter was rendered unusable for hosting community events, concerts, exhibitions, meals, classes & social events. Shortly after the water damage happened, Waterfall Arts engaged a Project M design team to address the situation. Project M, created by John Bielenberg of Belfast, brings college age graphic designers to help design and publicize solutions for a wide range of worthy projects. The M team designed graphics, drew up a renovation plan, made videos and started the fundraising effort.

Prior to the water disaster, the basement was a functioning performance space and a place where the community came together. Waterfall Arts sees the Fallout Shelter as a venue that serves the creative needs of the community with an adaptable space for plays, artist talks, parties, meetings, live performances and classes.

The water damage can be seen as a blessing in disguise, as it led Waterfall Arts and Project M to imagine a new space which will better serve the life and spirit of the community once again. Renovations in three phases include rebuilding the stage, acoustical enhancements, painting, ambient and stage lighting and an upgraded kitchen and serving area for public use. All donations to the Indiegogo campaign will be used for these improvements.

Donations to the renovation campaign can be made by visiting indiegogo.com and typing in waterfall arts in the browse campaigns box or by going to Waterfall Arts home page and clicking on the Indiegogo box. For more information on the fundraising campaign, summer classes and events and studio rentals, please visit waterfallarts.org, stop by 256 High Street in Belfast or call 338-2222.

(Belfast, ME) The Eighth Annual Belfast Poetry Festival announces a new twist to this year’s fall event. Continuing the Belfast tradition of poetry firsts, this year’s presentation will feature “The Poem to Behold,” a live multimedia presentation of poetry and images, the first of its kind in Maine. Inspired by the fast-paced presentation format of Pecha Kucha™ and by Andy Warhol’s “Exploding Plastic Inevitable,” “The Poem to Behold” will be a live, simultaneous presentation of words that respond to art and art that responds to words, shrinking the distance between the visual and verbal media and opening up all kinds of opportunities for poets and artists to inspire each other.

The festival is currently accepting submissions from poets, artists, and other creative types across the state for this juried show, and encourages pairs of collaborators, individuals in either medium, or larger teams to submit presentation ideas with examples of work. Whether you’re an artist seeking to interpret works of poetry visually, a poet seeking to spell out the stories told in works of art, or a team of both eager to create related works in both media simultaneously, send in your proposal! “The Poem to Behold” will feature a live projection of images along with lively readings of the related poems, giving each presenter or team 6 minutes of verbal time to show a suggested 10 images. To submit, please send 3 images and 2 poems, appropriate bios and web links, and a brief outline of the proposed poetry and image collaboration to the festival, care of Belfast Poet Laureate Jacob Fricke at jacob@belfastpoetry.com, by July 7th. Please embed poems in the email text and send images as jpeg attachments. Participants vouch that they hold copyright to all works used, or that the works used are otherwise out of copyright. Chosen participants will be notified by late July.

The Eighth Annual Belfast Poetry Festival, which draws a devoted crowd of poets and artists from across the state and New England, will take place on Saturday, October 13th. For more information, please call 207-505-2746, visit the festival web site at BelfastPoetry.com or email Jacob Fricke at jacob@belfastpoetry.com.