Mike Herz: Solo Sailing to Hawaii or How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Former Alna resident Mike Herz recounts his solo sailing voyage to Hawaii — an adventure story of seamanship, solitude, and the open Pacific.
Evolution of the Lute — Renaissance to Baroque
Local lute player Gerry Flanagan is joined by fellow lutenist Tony Costanzo for an afternoon program tracing the lute's evolution from Renaissance to Baroque. Costanzo opens with Renaissance music, including vocal pieces; Flanagan follows with Baroque lute music from the 18th century.
An Afternoon of Song and Story with The Outhouse Association
A performance by the Penobscot Bay–based acoustic duo The Outhouse Association. Ian Ludders and Tony Scott will play songs from their new album, interspersed with stories of life on an island in Penobscot Bay and discussion of Ian's new book, The Log of the Herring Pumper BERYL.
Brett Donham: Fifty Years of Architecture
Selected work from Brett Donham's 50-year architectural practice, including Maine projects such as First Parish Church in Saco, Public Safety Complex in Westbrook, and St. Patrick's Church in Damariscotta Mills.
Free America! Early Songs of Resistance and Rebellion (1790–1860)
The Boston Camerata brings their celebrated 'Free America!' program to Alna's historic 1789 Meetinghouse on Sunday, July 12, 2026, at 2:00 PM — a stirring celebration of liberty and resistance for the 250th anniversary of America's Declaration of Independence.
Tickets: $35 general · $10 students and children.
Jenny and Nathan Wilson — Jazz at Head Tide Church
The Jenny and Nathan Wilson Jazz Duo — pianist, flutist, and composer Jenny Wilson (originally from Queens, NY, with deep Maine ties) and bassist Nathan Wilson — perform at Head Tide Church on Saturday, July 11 at 3:00 PM. Free admission; reception to follow. Presented by the Friends of Head Tide Church.
Damariscotta and Newcastle Ships of the Slave Trade
Alna resident Carol Gardner, author of The Divided North, explores the troubling history of three ships built in Damariscotta and Newcastle in 1846 that were used to transport enslaved Africans — and what they reveal about Maine as a so-called 'free state' during the age of slavery.
Jamie Saft Trio — Jazz at the Meetinghouse
Alna's very own Jamie Saft — world-renowned pianist, keyboardist, producer, and composer — performs with his jazz trio at Alna's historic 1789 Meetinghouse on Saturday, June 6 at 3:00 PM.
Suggested donation: $25 supporter · $50 patron · $100 sponsor
Lute Concert Performance
Alna resident Gerry Flanagan will be performing a brief concert of lute music that dates from about 1700. The program includes two suites by S.L. Weiss played on a 13-course baroque lute.
In the 17th century, the lute was the king of the instruments for playing polyphonic music. Lutes were everywhere, and well-educated men and women were expected to have at least some passing ability to play. Sylvius Weiss (1687-1750) was one of the most important and prolific composers and best-known performers of lute music during this era.
Representation And How To Get It
Alna Meetinghouse
Friday, October 17, and Saturday, October 18 at 2PM
Written by Joyce Van Dyke, directed by Judy Braha, and performed by Elaine Vaan Hogue, Representation and How to Get It, is play for our current day, inspired by and based upon the life of Julia Ward Howe, feminist, suffragist, abolitionist, poet, and author of Civil War anthem, The Battle Hymn of the Republic. The play captures the story of her personal struggle to understand and advance the place of women in America, and her prophetic belief that America would lose its democracy if America were to remain America for some, but not all of us.
Admission is free, but donations are gratefully accepted and pre-registration is requested.
Alna’s historic 1789 meetinghouse is located at 1789 Alna Road in Alna
Phylicia Ghee Exhibition
An interdisciplinary artist based in Baltimore, Phylicia’s artwork documents transition, explores healing, and presents personal rites-of-passage.
Gallery Hours 1 to 6PM each of the following days (Puddle Dock Village School)
Saturday, July 26, 4-6PM, Opening Reception (Puddle Dock Village School)
Sunday, July 27, 3-4:30PM, Jim Doble Sound Bath (Puddle Dock Village School)
Wednesday, July 30, 5:30-7PM, Self Care Practice: a Conversation (Peace Gallery, Damariscotta)
Saturday, August 2, 2-6PM, A Day of Healing Arts (Alna Meetinghouse)
Sunday, August 3, 5-8PM, Closing Reception & Cacao Ceremony (Puddle Dock Village School)
Ed Epping Exhibition
An exhibition exploring incarceration and injustices in criminal punishment systems.
Featuring selections from The Corrections Project, a multi-tiered and multimedia exploration of injustice in the United State’s criminal justice system, this exhibition will be as much a catalyst for advocacy as an art show.
Gallery Hours 1 to 6PM each of the following days (Puddle Dock Village School)
Thursday, July 17, 4-6PM, Opening Reception (Puddle Dock Village School)
Saturday, July 19, 1-4PM, Pyrography Demonstration (Puddle Dock Village School)
Sunday, July 20, 3-5PM, Art Without Walls: Creativity & Incarceration (Alna Meetinghouse)
Thursday, July 24, 3-5PM, Reentry & Redemption: Voices from Experience (Alna Meetinghouse)
Thursday, July 24, 5-7PM, Closing Reception (Puddle Dock Village School)
Keith Plummer Exhibition
Proficient in a variety of sculptural media, including wood, bone, and metalworking, and influenced by indigenous art from both the East and West, his works function as talismans of protection and safety.
Gallery Hours 1 to 6PM each of the following days (Puddle Dock Village School)
Saturday, July 5, 4-6PM: Opening reception (Puddle Dock Village School)
Sunday, July 6, 1-4PM: Repoussage Demonstration (Puddle Dock Village School)
Wednesday, July 9, 10AM-3PM: Creative Futures: A Community Gathering on Youth Thriving (Alna Meetinghouse)
Sunday, July 13, 3-5PM: Art & Resilience: A Shared Experience (Alna Meetinghouse)
Sunday, July 13, 5-7PM: Closing Reception (Puddle Dock Village School)
Slavery and Abolition in 19th Century Maine
Carol Gardner speaks about her newly released book The Divided North at Alna’s historic 1789 meetinghouse
LYDIA KEENE’S 1899 VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD
Local author and former Alna resident Joan Gregoire will give a presentation on her recently published book, The Lydessy: Lydia Keene’s 1899 Voyage Around the World in her own words, chronicling her grandmother’s historic voyage on a merchant schooner in 1899. Stormy seas and high winds, becalmed in extreme heat, being one of only three women on a ship full of robust sailors, tales of this adventure give a wonderful insight into life aboard ship at the end of the 19th century.
18th Century Meeting Houses of Maine Presentation
Former Maine State Historian Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. will present an illustrated talk about the old meetinghouses of Maine at 3PM on Sunday, April 26th at the Puddle Dock Village School in Alna, 275 Head Tide Road (directly behind the Alna Post Office).
Shettleworth will explore the cultural and architectural heritage of Maine’s preserved 18th century meetinghouses. Alna’s nearby 1789 meetinghouse will be open to visitors following the presentation, with docents available to answer questions.
This event is sponsored by the Fund to Support Historic Alna. The event is free and open to the public, though donations to support the maintenance and preservation of Alna’s historic buildings will be gratefully accepted.
For more information, contact Ed Pentaleri at 315-0070 or email historicalna@gmail.com
Past Events
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October 2024
2024 Alna Crafts & Arts Show
A two-day exhibition showcasing an eclectic range of Alna crafts and fine arts, from woodenware to jewelry, quilting vintage clothing and fiber arts, and fine painting and infrared photography, to fly tying and taxidermy.
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September 2024
Music at the Meetinghouse
Performance of traditional Irish music by Midcoast Band “Curlew:” Tamora Goltz, Darryn Petersen, and David and Nathaniel Stimson, playing fiddle, concertina, Uilean pipes, guitar, flute & whistle.
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August 2024
Art & Healing Alna
A project illuminating and honoring the often-hidden struggles and triumphs of Lincoln County residents affected by substance use. Locally organized events humanize this complex issue, fostering positive change through greater understanding, increased empathy, and strengthened community bonds.
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September 2023
Alna Art And Artists, New And Old
With a focus on the art of Alna artists, this show included works of both contemporary artists and those from earlier in the 20th century. Contemporary works of Jon Luoma, Ted Wengren, Brian Dubina, Kate Nordstrom and Elizabeth Pardo were shown, as were works by Carroll Thayer Berry, Allen Erskine Philbrick, and Francis Wenderoth “Dick” Saunders.
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September 2022
20th Century Fine Art of Historic Alna
Oil and watercolor paintings, woodcuts, and etchings of local scenery and landmarks, including some homes, churches, mills, and bridges that no longer exist, as well as a few additional scenes of Sheepscot Village, Newcastle, and the nearby coast.
