Piscataquis County, Maine
September 29-30, 2024
Presenter: Center Theatre
Dover-Foxcroft population: 4,422
Brownville population: 1,139
On Day 4 of Gather Hear Maine, it was time to head to more rural lands. Our first stop was Dover-Foxcroft in Piscataquis County, a two-hour drive north from Portland. Piscataquis has the second lowest per-capita income in the state, and only 17,432 residents, making it the least populated county of the state.
The venue in Dover-Foxcroft was Center Theatre, a two-screen movie theater smack in the middle of the main street and nestled right up to the Piscataquis River. Center Theatre is also a hub for the local arts scene, and takes special pride in its community theater program. It's also the home of the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival!
Because Dover-Foxcroft is the largest town in Piscataquis, and with its relative vicinity to Portland, I imagined it would be a bigger town than it actually is. In reality, the town was very...quiet. Tour assistant (and amazing artist/friend) Mike Dutton and I walked down the Main Street, taking pictures of a storefront plastered with intense conservative political signs. The tiny patch of land at a triangle street intersection had equal numbers Trump and Harris signs. We were the only ones out on the street, and people driving by looked on interestedly at us. I worried a little if people would show up to the concert. But I knew I was in the good hands of Patrick, Center Theatre's director who had exchanged countless emails with me to nail down every detail, and was clearly a pillar of the community (and the man behind the Whoopie Pie Festival himself).
Indeed, we had a great enthusiastic audience of about 60 art-loving folks. In celebration of the work they do to bolster the arts, I was very happy to feature two local young music students, Aubrey (violin) and Britton (piano), taught by Susan Ramsey of North Country Strings Music Studio.
Afterwards, we were warmly invited to a Center Theater board member’s house where we were endlessly entertained by their two thespian kids. Plus, our host family had a taxidermied moose in their living room….it’s starting to really feel like we’re in Maine.
Click on photos for video excerpts
Day 5 was our only day off on the 10-day tour, but wanting to make the most out of this relatively short tour, we snuck in an elementary school visit early in the morning. The visit was arranged by Center Theatre. We drove half an hour from Dover-Foxcroft to Brownville, population 1250, passing a massive lumberyard on the way. The school was hidden in the forest along a country road, with trees watching over the building. The scent and the quiet reminded me of my school visits in Alaska.
The 100 children gathered were exceptionally well-behaved and curious, despite the teachers’ worry about their behavior because they had never experienced something like this. An adorable moment was when the teacher explained what I do - "Miki goes to rural places with her piano to play music" - and she was met by puzzled faces. She thought to ask, "Do you know what 'rural' means?" and the children responded with a resounding "No!"
Afterwards, I enjoyed a semi-long trail run, while Mike hiked to do some plein air painting. Then, we proceeded to drive further north towards Canada for the next couple tour stops.
