Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre of Ogunquit

Audiences are the same all over the word, and if you entertain them, they'll respond ~ Liza Minelli

There is nothing like an old movie house. Most towns in north America had a movie house. A place to go an escape and be entertained. Ogunquit still has such an institution, the Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre. This big wooden theatre was built in 1923. Its owned and managed by the Clayton Family. Maureen sells the tickets, Peter works the concession stand, and their son, Max entertains patrons with his band before the start of the film. This is not your "Big Box" multiplex on the highway. This is the movies like it was 50 years ago. Its one of my favorite pastimes for a summers evening....

The Leavitt theatre showcases first run films; tonight was the Ogunquit premiere of "Sex and the City Part II". The movie was entertaining: Stanford & Anthony get married in an "over-the-top" gay wedding. It's really a gay wedding when Liza Minelli officiates the ceremony, and does a musical rendition of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" with two male back-up dancers dressed as Liza Minelli. The movie was pure escapism and fun. You know its really a gay night, when you're in Ogunquit to see "Sex and the City II", and Carson Kressley is there also.

 The Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre is a trip back into time. The movie house still uses the vintage tickets from yesteryear.  There is one screen, and one theatre (as opposed to multiple rooms). There is usually one showing per night. Most patrons walk to the theatre, easily located in the village centre.
The Leavitt is filled with happy memories, nostalgic images and ephemera from movie legends.

Max Clayton plays guitar and brother Ian serves faux Cosmos for the opening of Sex and the City II
The Details:

Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre

259 Main Street Ogunquit, ME

207.646.3123

http://leavittheatre.com/  Join Them On FaceBook

Free Parking across the Street

One showing per night @ 8:00 pm

Matinees on rain days

Price $9, ( cheaper for seniors and kids)

Concession stand with Pop Corn & Candy.

****

Thumbs up for Sex and the City, it may be a "Chick Flick" but its worth seeing, pure entertainment and over the top. Worth seeing! We give it "thumbs up"

Solar Energy

Watch a sunrise at least once a year. 

From "Life's Little Instructions" by H. Jackson Brown

Its amazing how the sun energizes me. The sun in Ogunquit is brilliant in May & June. I was on the beach at 4:30 this morning listening to the sounds of nature as it prepares for the upcoming day. A dawn chorus of birds cast a symphony of sounds, as the tide gently rolls in. At about 5:09 am the sun peaked above the horizon on the east, and a blaze of red illuminated the sky. Its great how unspoiled the beach is at low tide during a sunrise. There are more birds than people at 5 am. An Ogunquit sunrise is a fresh beginning, a new start.....a fresh breath to a new day!

Its a simple pleasure that should be enjoyed. Watching the sun rise above Ogunquit beach. Something I try to do, at least once a week in the summer.

The artists that have been painting in Ogunquit for over 100 years are mesmerized by the brilliant sunlight as it dapples over the Atlantic.

A tired (and unshaven Greg) enjoys the first sunrise of the summer season.

Greg lives and works in Ogunquit Maine, co-owns Ogunquit Beach Inn with Mike and two Cocker Spaniels

Start of Summer?

Summer: A period of fruition, fulfillment, happiness or beauty. 

When does summer start? Its a question that children always ask (at least I did as a child). Memorial Day weekend?  Meteorological  summer, June 1st? When school is finished for the year?
 Here in Ogunquit, summer season starts this weekend: warm days in the 70's & 80's. Visiting Canadians celebrating Victoria Day weekend,  most businesses are open, and the Ogunquit Musem of Art opens for the season! Memorial Day may be next week, but the town is busy with beach goers, sightseers, and chirping birds....

I went down to the beach for a bit this afternoon. There was not a cloud in the sky. I think this definition from Dictionary.com sums up summer:

The period of finest development, perfection, or beauty previous to any decline: the summer of life.

The rain in Maine falls not so gently on the Coastal Plain.....

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.   -Dolly Parton

Its springtime in Ogunquit, Maine. The weather is dramatic and always changing. One day 70 degrees (21c), and the next day ( or hour) 49 degrees (9 c) with 25 mile and hour winds. That's the weather for today. The rain on the seacoast is dramatic. The wind whips the rain into a frenzy as the waves crash against the rocks.

Perkins Cove is an interesting place to "watch the weather".  On the Atlantic side, the waves and the wind is dramatic. On the sheltered "cove" side where the boats are moored, its placid and peaceful.

Depending on the moon and tides storms can be quite intense. Today's rain is just rain, with a little wind. Its been a nice spring thus far, so an inch or two of rain is needed for the plantings.

The Marginal Way and Beach are great spots to view the tides and watch the crashing waves while it rains not so gently on the seaplain....

Blogger Greg (aka Gorio). Lives and works in Ogunquit Maine

The Last Phone Booth......

The telephone book is full of facts, but it doesn't contain a single idea.

                                                                                -Mortimer Adler

The 20th century is more than a decade ago, and certain objects from life in the last century are disappearing. There are virtually no phone booths in New York City, there may be two or three left in Manhattan. Before strip-plazas dominated the American landscape,  general stores, filling stations and farm stands were the norm during mid 20th century.  On Route One in Ogunquit about a half a mile north of the village sits a small micro-mall called Brewster's. This tiny filling-station/general store/Western Union,  has the last phone booth in Ogunquit.

When we bought our first house in Ogunquit during the 90's, people used the last four numbers of their telephone number to call each other. Everyone in the state (even today)  has the same area code of 207. The exchange for Ogunquit and Wells is 646.
Today on my morning run, I realized that, the lone phone booth on Route One standing there like a bright beacon of communication is the last phone booth in Ogunquit, complete with a phone book. Will phone books be obsolete in the near future?

Lilacs in Ogunquit....

Spring is natures way of saying "Lets Party" - Robin Williams

The scent of the sea is always omnipresent in Ogunquit, however in the month of May,  the town is awash with the fragrant smell of lilacs! This year the lilacs have bloomed early. Lilacs usually bloom in late May around Memorial Day Weekend, this year it was early May, about three weeks earlier than normal. Lilacs are one of the first smells of spring.

There have been lilacs in Maine for over three centuries. The British introduced them to New England. They originally came from Asia via Turkey. The Lilac shrub/tree can live for over 100 years and are quite hardy. The common lilac in Maine is the purpler Syringa vulgaris.
On east side of  Ogunquit Beach Inn, a  forest of  lilac bushes stands up to 12 feet tall.  The flowers are so heavy that they hang down from the tree.

The early bloom of lilacs signals us that it is time to plant the annuals, window boxes and hanging baskets! Mike spent the morning planting and  preparing the hanging baskets.

Lobster Rolls...The best lobster roll recipe!

We'll eat the best, the better to live
From forest, sea and dell:

but the rarest joy Nature can give,
is found in a lobster shell

It's that time of year when the warm weather brings friends and family back to Ogunquit Maine. Its also time for me to go to see the "lobster man" on the dock. Lobsters along the Maine coast are plentiful. There are numerous lobster shacks, fishmongers and purveyors. Lobster is so common, that the local health club sells lobsters in the gym!
We have our traditional authentic Maine lobster roll recipe, that we will make for family.....

The secret to great tasting Maine lobster roll,  starts with fresh Maine lobster. We get the lobster right off the dock.  Boil several lobsters. then let cool. Crack open lobsters and use the best meat: tail and claws. We don't use the knuckles for our lobster rolls, we use the best part of the lobstah! Here is what you will need.
5 or 6 lobsters
3 heaping tablespoons of Hellmann's or Cains mayonnaise
2 sticks of celery chopped finely
2 dashes of sea salt or kosher salt
dash of  pepper
1  dash of paprika

New England style hot dog rolls
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1. Mix all ingredients, except the butter and hotdog rolls; keep chilled until ready to use

2. Brush unsalted butter on each side of hotdog roll and grill in pan or on barbecue
3. Split the hotdog rolls (but not all the way through the bread) and fill with the lobster mix

Serve with chips, pickle slice and coleslaw. Enjoy!  Best to enjoy outside on a beautiful day!

Blogger/Innkeeper Greg enjoys fresh Maine Lobster rolls with friends and family at Ogunquit Beach Inn

Ogunquit Beach & Bay 5k run for AIDS. Frannie Peabody Center

“Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you  travelled from where you started.”                                     
                                 -unknown

(photo courtesy of Jordan.Freedman@gmail.com)

One thing that always amazes me about Ogunquit is how philanthropic people are. There are countless fundraisers, benefits and organizations that are always competing for donations in this little village. This weekend was no different.
I participated in the  "Beach & Bay 5k Run & Walk for AIDS" sponsored by the Frannie Peabody Center. This organization does amazing work in Ogunquit and in Maine. The center provides services with people with HIV or AIDS.
Ogunquit's comedian  Kris Francis was the Master of Ceremonies at today's event. Before he officially started the race, he asked all participants "to visualize and focus on someone who has died of AIDS or HIV".

This certified race was at 11 am this morning on Ogunquit beach. Weather was great, with a modest headwind coming from the south.
Ogunquit's elite runner, Bobby Winn came in first place (again) with a time of 17.14 minutes.
The race is very inclusive with 165 runners, walkers, drag queens and even a person with a wheelchair ( which in not easy in the sand!),


Many people donated there time, money and inkind services. Normand of Maine Street had the barbecue for runners and  walkers,  Julies Provisto had great coffee and other treats. Food was provided by many of the local bakeries and restaurants.

Winner, Bobby Winn and Mark Register.

Mark is a director for the Frannie Peabody Center. Mark oversees the development aspect and assists with the planning the 5k Beach and Bay with Ogunquit's AIDS activist Jimmy Lucibello. Lucibello stated that the event raised over $21,000. Amazing for such a small town; and that does not include the inkind donations or other services provided.

I came in 7th with a time of 22.03 almost one minute off from last year's time. Not my best race, but then again, I am running on Ogunquit beach amongst friends for a worthwhile cause......