New2Maine.com

According to a recent piece in The Maine Switch, there are now a few more area farm markets to tickle your fresh produce fancy. Freeport, Cumberland Center, and Scarborough join the list Portland-area towns which host regular, seasonal farmer’s markets. There’s one that opens just down the street from the house Amber and I are buying in Gorham, and I look forward to swinging by before my Tuesday night volleyball league to pick up some veggies for the week.

For some reason Amber and I have never managed to get ourselves to the huge Deering Oaks market on Saturdays. We’ve driven by a few times, and actually tried once but got there as things were closing up. Having one less than a mile down the road will give us less of an excuse. Of course, the Gorham market doesn’t run as long as Portland’s. Maybe we’ll find ourselves heading into town on Saturday mornings next year?

Check out Avery Yale Kamila’s piece for the full list of markets.

With the stroke of Gov. Baldacci’s pen today, Maine joined the rising tide of states legalizing marriage for any two adults, regardless of the sex of each. According to a statement released by the Governor,

“In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions,” Governor Baldacci said. “I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage.”

“Article I in the Maine Constitution states that ‘no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of that person’s civil rights or be discriminated against.’”

“This new law does not force any religion to recognize a marriage that falls outside of its beliefs. It does not require the church to perform any ceremony with which it disagrees. Instead, it reaffirms the separation of Church and State,” Governor Baldacci said.

“It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine’s civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government.”

It will be interesting to watch the reaction to this decision. Maine joins Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa as the only states that currently allow same-sex marriages (though Vermont recently passed a law that will allow them as of September), but I’m fairly sure this is not the end of this debate. While I agree with Baldacci’s interpretation of Article I of the state Constitution, I am personally undecided on the issue; I have no doubt that there will be a call for a Constitutional amendment or referendum to ban same-sex marriages. I wonder if it will actually make it to a popular vote…

Update: some poor fact checking on my part lead me to misstate that Maine currently allows same-sex marriage as a result of this legislation. That is not quite correct. Like Vermont, this new law does not take effect until September, 90 days after the adjournment of this legistlative session.

So we did the Art Walk last night. We started up at the East End studio of Elizabeth Fraser and wandered down toward Rabelais Books, stopping at four or five places along the way. If you’re going to come out in June and want to see as much art as possible, I’d recommend sticking to the downtown arts district near Monument Square. However, if you want a lovely evening walk with some art and a few tasty bites to eat, Munjoy Hill is the place to be.

After checking out Elizabeth’s awesome collection of daily 5″ paintings, we headed across the street to Hilltop Coffee Shop for some of the least expensive, yet best, coffee available in Portland. Two small lattes and a bottled drink (our friend Jen was with us) for $6 is pretty rare these days. They had a few small nibbles laid out as well, and the girls gave these very positive reviews. The atmosphere was a cozy local coffee house. We would have stayed and hung out if there weren’t more walking to be done.

Wandering down Congress St., we stopped into a few shops and studios, and made our way into Home Grown Herbs and Tea, also on Congress Street. Unfortunately, we still had our Hilltop cups half full, so we did not order any of the array of herbal teas she had on offer. we did try some of the appetizers that were laid out. The grape leaves, stuffed with something we couldn’t quite figure out (I say there was some fennel in it, but that was definitely not all) were quite tasty. We’ll have to head back to this one next time we fancy some tea.

Finally, we turned down India St. on our way to Rabelais. First, however, we came upon Duckfat. Being a little peckish by then, we simply had to stop for some Belgian fries. Though I’ve read wonderful reviews of Duckfat’s potato delights, Amber and I had not yet found ourselves in that area at meal time. Sad, given that we’ve lived here nearly two years now. We remedied the situation with a large order of fries to go and a couple of dipping sauces for the side. The curry mayo was the favorite. We will, without a doubt, be going back to see what comes off the panini press at this delightful little sandwich and fry shop. And yes, the fries were worth every single calorie. I will gladly spin an extra few miles on my bike this weekend to burn them off. Jen assured us that their milkshakes are equally fabulous. More research is needed…and I’ll be the first to volunteer.

We’re already looking forward to June 5 for the next Art Walk. The Monument Square area is not without its own delightful eateries, and I’m sure I’ll have some more food notes to share the next day. I’m just sorry we waited so long to check out First Friday. Portland is a great little city, and if you’ve only ever explored the Old Port area, the Art Walk may be the perfect excuse for you to branch out a little and see what else she has to offer. You won’t be disappointed.

Amber and I have lived in Portland for twenty-one months now, and have about six weeks left as city residents, provided the appraisal comes back with a reasonal number. One of the fun Portland cultural activities that we’ve been saying we should do since we got here was the First Friday Art Walk. Running year-round (as far as I know) on the first Friday of each month, the Walk’s mission

is to open the doors of Portland’s visual arts community by joining together and introducing a wider audience to the unique vitality of the artists and venues of Portland. Promoting interest with non-exclusivity and easy access, thereby strengthening the arts and community through diversity and celebration.

Sadly, though we’ve talked about doing it, we have yet to actually do a Walk. Provided the forecast thunderstorm holds off, I think we might change that tonight. Amber has an appointment downtown at 4:30, and I’m planning to head down with her for some Belgian bier at Novare Res. I figure that provides us with the perfect opportunity to stay downtown and see what’s around. We might even pick up a piece or two, as the house will need something on the walls. There’s a ridiculously long list of things to see tonight, so it should be fun.