If you're a regular viewer of this blog, you know that Joe is a big fan of the Portland Stage Company. A true jewel of Portland, Portland Stage provides us not only with compelling productions, but also with the PortFringe Theater Festival. Launched in 2012 as a five-day, cutting-edge theater festival with 40 acts ranging from serious to silly and everything in between, PortFringe is a non-juried fringe theater festival that supports new, edgy, and experimental performance in our fine city. This year's festival runs from June 18th to June 26th. To learn more about the festival, including the calendar of events, click here. Joe hopes you consider attending one of the productions, and says break a leg to those putting them on!

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

Joe is always honored to help spread the important message of the Alzheimer's Association, whose mission is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research, to provide and enhance care and support for all affected, and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Today, June 20, 2016, is the Alzheimer's Association's Longest Day Event. The Longest Day is a team event to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer's Association. Held annually on the summer solstice, the duration of this sunrise-to-sunset event symbolizes the challenging journey of those living with the disease and their caregivers. Teams are encouraged to create their own experience as they fundraise and participate in an activity they love to honor someone facing the disease. Find more about this great organization and their event here. Joe hopes the event is a success and thanks you for your support!

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

Since the tragedy that took place in Orlando, Joe has had the LGBT community on his mind, wishing them comfort and strength in a time of great difficulty. Among the many tiles in the mosaic of Portland is our active LGBT community. This week 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. Joe hopes the events are a great success, and applauds this community for their resilience and bravery.

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

Calling all of Portland's animal-lovers: once again Joe is promoting the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland. The mission of ARLGP is to provide temporary care and shelter for stray, abandoned, confiscated and relinquished animals, and to place as many as possible into responsible and caring homes. Every year this organization takes in nearly 4,000 stray, abandoned, or owner-surrendered animals, and maintains committed to providing the best possible care for these animals by ensuring they receive the love, dignity, respect, and medical attention they deserve. Joe applauds the work done on behalf of animals by this local organization, and urges you to consider attending their annual Fur Ball fundraiser, held at 6pm this Thursday, June 16th, at the Woodlands Club in Falmouth. The event fill feature live music, dancing, and a raffle- all for a great cause. Find more about the event and the organization here. Joe hopes the event is a "ball"!

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

Who's up for some summer reading? Joe just might take a break from reading briefs and memos to pick up a book at the Friends of Portland Public Library Annual Book Sale. Friends of the Portland Public Library was created to further the Mission of the Portland Public Library and promote community engagement among Library patrons. Working in close partnership with the Library, the Friends organize an Annual Book Sale in which all proceeds benefit the Library. This year, The Friends of Portland Public Library are back with an even larger selection of books, records, CDs and DVDs for the 2016 book sale! The book sale will offer tens of thousands of books under $3, and other rare books and related items. The sale will take place in the Catherine McAuley High School Gymnasium located at 631 Stevens Avenue from Thursday, June 16th through Sunday, June 19th. Find more about this local organization here, and more about this event here. Joe hopes the event is a great success. Read on, Portland.

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

As readers of this blog know by now, Joe is always eager to help promote the cause of immigrants. The descendant of immigrants himself, Joe is deeply aware of the role newcomers have played and continue to play in shaping our country. He's also aware that many of these people left their home country not by choice but by necessity, which is why he's promoting World Refugee Day, when countries from around the world raise awareness of the situation of refugees. One of Joe's favorite local organizations, ILAP, is hosting events to commemorate the day, including a festival on Saturday, June 4th, 3-7pm, at King Middle School. Festivities will include family-friendly activities, an international meal from local ethnic restaurants, crafts & more. For more information about ILAP, go here. Joe hopes the events are a success and extends his thanks to ILAP for their continuing hard work on behalf of refugees and all immigrants!

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

One thing you may not know about Joe is that he's a bit of an animal person. Never too far from his cat Theo, Joe's got a soft spot for all of God's critters, which is why he's promoting the Maine Animal Coalition's Vegetarian Food Festival, to be held this Saturday, June 4th, at the East End School from 11am to 3pm. Since 1989, with the help of dedicated volunteers, the Maine Animal Coalition has worked to promote compassion towards all animals and to instill this compassion as a guiding principle in the State of Maine. Their Vegetarian Food Festival is a fun event featuring vegan food, live music, exhibitors, vendors, raffles, a documentary, and interesting speakers. Joe urges you to find out more about the Maine Animal Coalition at their website, and more about this weekend's event here.

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

One of Joe's favorite things about living in Maine is the rural landscapes you see throughout the state. With our beautiful natural land come lots and lots of animals, including a Bornstein family favorite: horses. The Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals is an organization devoted to caring for our equine friends. Horses who have been seized by Maine's law enforcement officials and placed by court order with the Society are kept for the entirety of their lives or placed in "forever homes". One of the largest expenses for this wonderful organization is the hay; believe it or not, each horse eats one bale a day- multiply that by 365, and that's a lot of hay! The 2016 Buy-A-Bale Campaign is a fundraising effort by the MSSPA to raise money to feed the horses they care for. Joe and his family feel strongly about these beautiful animals and hope that you can lend this organization a hand. Learn more about the cause here, and donate to Buy-A-Bale here. Every $5 feeds one horse one day's worth of hay- Joe hopes you consider lending a hand to this organization!

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