Downtown Bangor ready to show off

BANGOR – You don’t have to go to New York to enjoy quality live theater, music, or dance, or to enjoy museums featuring fine art and artifacts.

To show off what’s available in Bangor, a collaboration of downtown arts and cultural organizations invites everyone to enjoy the bright lights of Bangor from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, March 17.

The celebration will begin in Pickering Square and end at the Maine Discovery Museum. A special coach bus will be available for those coming from Bar Harbor and Ellsworth.

In the morning, patrons of the arts may choose between attending a guided tour of the three exhibits at the University of Maine Museum of Art or attending a lecture-demonstration on dance presented by the Robinson Ballet Company.

The exhibits at the art museum are “Drawing as Thinking,” a selection of drawings culled from the museum’s permanent collection; “Expanding Universe: The Recent Paintings of Al Held;” and “Prospect of Light: Images from Pinhole and Plastic Cameras.”

The presentation by Robinson Ballet will be held at the Bangor Public Library. At noon, participants may enjoy a lunch of cranberry walnut chicken salad with chocolate truffle torte while listening to Acadia Brass, an ensemble of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, or enjoy a lunch at one of the many fine restaurants downtown.

In the afternoon, the choice is between attending Penobscot Theatre Company’s production of “Art” or exploring Bangor’s past and present starting with a guided tour of “From Away: Exploring Bangor’s Cultural Heritage” at the Bangor Museum and Center for History.

The day ends with a wine and cheese reception with the cast of “Art” and a tour at the Maine Discovery Museum, where participants may explore three floors of interactive exhibits in the historic Freese’s building. The tour also features the museum’s newest traveling exhibit, Solve-It Central, in which 15 interactive exhibits help visitors discover and apply a variety of approaches to problem solving.

The sampler of arts and culture in the city is a collaboration of the Bangor Museum and Center for History, the Bangor Public Library, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, the Maine Discovery Museum, the Penobscot Theatre Company, the Robinson Ballet and the University of Maine Museum of Art – with support from the Bangor Center Corporation.

Tickets are $45 per person with roundtrip coach service from Bar Harbor or Ellsworth, or $30 per person without coach service, with additional costs for lunch and the theater performance.

The deadline for registration is March 12. To obtain more information, call 433-7154 or any one of the cooperating organizations.