Followers of this blog are familiar with the St. Lawrence Arts Center. Located in Portland's East End, the St. Lawrence Arts Center is an affordable and accessible venue for diverse offerings of performance arts - theater, dance, music, film, workshops and more. This great organization adds activity, entertainment, cultural enrichment, social interaction, renovation and investment that serve both the surrounding neighborhood of Munjoy Hill as well as the residents of Greater Portland.

This weekend, Portlanders should be sure to swing by the St. Lawrence Arts Center to see Hope: A Theatrical Dance. Hope is a heartfelt story told through a two person dance, following the lives of two characters who can't quite find the right time to be together and a cluster of outside individuals they encounter along the way. There will also be other wonderful dance pieces presented by Collective Motion Arts Center.

Hope will be shown this Saturday and Sunday, July 16th and 17th, at 7pm. Learn more about this production here.

We hope the shows are a great success!

Each year, over a thousand women (many of them cancer survivors) gather in South Portland to swim, bike & run as they Tri for a Cure in Maine's only all-women's triathlon. The Tri for a Cure, held by the Maine Cancer Foundation, has become the largest triathlon in the state, providing a unique opportunity for women to engage in the fight against cancer here in Maine. The triathletes share a unique bond; some are cancer survivors, others are racing in support of their loved ones, but all of them share the desire to create a cancer-free Maine, a desire that we share.

Find more about the Tri here.

                               Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.

Readers of this blog are well familiar by now with Maine College of Art (MECA) and its annual COLLECT sale.

MECA&D’s 2022 COLLECT Art Sale will again be held online and in person, giving art lovers locally and worldwide the opportunity to purchase work by students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the College. Your purchase will support MECA&D student scholarships and provide commissions to artists from Maine and beyond.

The sale will open online at 9:00am on Thursday, June 23 and will run through 6:00pm on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Artwork can be purchased via the sale website or in person at the ICA at MECA&D (522 Congress St, Portland, ME 04101).

Joe's team hopes the event goes off without a hitch!

                      Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.

Among the many tiles in the mosaic of Portland is our active LGBTQIA community. This weekend is a celebration of the strides they have made, both from a legal and social perspective. Pride Portland! is a celebration of Portland's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and allied community. The organization's goal is to bring people together to celebrate the achievements of the LGBTQA movement, remember its history, and raise awareness of the work that still needs to be done. Find more about this organization, including a schedule of upcoming events, at its website. We hope the events this weekend are a great success, and applaud this community for their resilience and strength.

                       Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.

Today Joe's team honors the legacy of Whitby Tousignant, who led an extraordinary life. Born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, Whit was saved several times by donated blood. While Whit's family had to say goodbye to him in January of 2012, they celebrate his birthday each year by hosting a memorial blood drive.

There are two ways you can honor Whit's legacy: either by donating blood at a drive held by the American Red Cross, or by donating to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital. Joe's team encourages you to learn more about Whit's inspiring life and ways to honor this extraordinary boy here.

Here at the Law Offices of Joe Bornstein we believe that the ability to write is an essential skill that all children should eventually learn, and one that has served us well over the years. Effectively communicating is so important in so many walks of life, and that's why we support The Telling Room, a nonprofit writing center in Portland dedicated to the idea that children and young adults are natural storytellers. This organization's fun, innovative programs enlist the support of local writers, artists, teachers, and community groups. At its downtown writing center it offers free afterschool workshops and writing help, and host field trips for school groups from all over Maine.

This Thursday, June 16th, the Telling Room is hosting its annual Big Night. Join The Telling Room in Deering Oaks from 5:00pm - 6:30pm for their annual celebration of young writers, including a book fair, a picnic, author readings, and award announcements.

Learn more about the Telling Room here, and Joe hopes the event is a blast!

                       Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.

Readers of this blog are no stranger to Maine Academy of Modern Music, a local organization that aspires to provide Maine youth with the discipline, freedom, and guidance to appreciate the thrill of making contemporary music, instilling in them the power of self-expression. MAMM is dedicated to building leadership through the musical arts.

This Sunday, June 12th, MAMM is launching a brand new inclusive community-minded music and arts festival, Resurgam, that will showcase Portland's creativity and youth. The event will be FREE and open to the public.

Learn more about Resurgam here, and rock on Portland!

                          Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here and here.

Here's an exciting and inspiring event Joe thinks you should know about: the Blue Wrap Runway 2019. Utterly unique to Maine, Blue Wrap Runway is the only charity event where dazzling fashions help to supply hospitals and medical clinics around the world. At Blue Wrap Runway, leading designers take blue wrap- normally used to wrap sterilized medical supplies- and create one-of-a-kind fashions.

Blue Wrap Runway is the major fundraising event for Partners for World Health. Now celebrating 10 years, PWH is known around the world for collecting medical supplies that are no longer being used, repackaging them and shipping them to other countries where they provide basic medical care for underserved populations.

Over their 10 years, Partners for World Health has shipped over 1.5 million pounds of medical supplies, saving countless lives. Joe applauds this amazing organization for its wonderful work, and urges you to join these folks this Thursday, May 16th, at USM's Abromson Center in Portland.

Learn more about this event here, and more about PWH here.

                         Photography by Corey Templeton. See more of Corey's photos here.