Tag Archives: Bangor

Finding a piece of Ireland in Bangor, Maine

“I made it,” I thought to myself as I stepped off the plane in Dublin. I was tired — so very tired — but the day there had only just begun. I pushed away that feeling and reminded myself that I was finally in Ireland. I can hazily recall making my way through the airport […]

Find something unique at Retro Swagger in downtown Bangor

If you’re in search of a chair made out of cassette tapes, old records that have been transformed into functioning clocks, upcycled pallet furniture or some retro clothing finds, you don’t have to look any farther than downtown Bangor. Retro Swagger at 10 Harlow St. opened last November, and I’ve had my eye on it […]

Downtown Bangor has become a real-life ‘Where’s Waldo?’ book

A six inch cut-out of Waldo is pictured at The Briar Patch in downtown Bangor. The Briar Patch is one of twenty-five locations in downtown Bangor where Waldo is hiding as part of the "Find Waldo Local 2016" event. Shelby Hartin|BDN

On Tuesday morning I stepped into The Briar Patch in downtown Bangor and immediately was assigned an important task. Gibran Graham, marketing manager of the children’s book shop, handed me a piece of paper and told me to get to work. My job? Find Waldo. Suddenly, the bookstore became exactly like one of the pages […]

Bunyan, brews, businesses: How Greendrinks is making Bangor better

My usual weeknight plans include going home and melting into my couch. I save my weekends for fun excursions, but lately I’ve realized that a lot happens in Bangor during the week. Last Tuesday I went down to the Bangor waterfront and listened to the Bangor Band, and this Tuesday I attended another weeknight event […]

Bangor Band still entertaining 157 years later

The Bangor Band entertains concert-goers on Tuesday evening at the Bangor waterfront. Shelby Hartin|BDN

Attending a small high school had advantages. I was a three-sport athlete, a member of the drama organization and an enthusiastic contributor to my school band. My coaches, teachers and mentors understood that I was busy, and it wasn’t uncommon for me to arrive late to softball practice because I was at a drama rehearsal, […]

The Not So Empty Nest, a new Bangor gift shop, is full of Maine-made treasures

Handmade signs hang on the wall at The Not So Empty Nest, a new gift shop in Bangor. Shelby Hartin|BDN

Father’s Day always falls right around my dad’s birthday on June 14. I’m not the kind of person to lump together birthdays and holidays when they fall close together. I prefer instead to treat them separately and give my dad something for each. Thankfully a new gift shop recently opened in Bangor, and I knew […]

A glimpse into the Bangor Fire Department’s past

Great fire of 1911 in Bangor. Bangor Public Library

Bangor firefighter and paramedic Chandler Corriveau unlocked and opened the door to the Hose 5 Fire Museum on State Street in Bangor, and I took a step inside. Hulking fire engines filled the space, and firefighters battling flames filled the photos hanging on the walls. To the right a ticker tape machine sat enclosed in […]

Gosselin’s Bakery, a Bangor legacy, will sate your doughnut appetite

Yvette Stewart of Gosselin's Bakery stand in front of a variety of doughnuts at Gosselin's Bakery, a family owned business, on Tuesday morning. Shelby Hartin|BDN

As I sat at my desk at work and took a bite into a soft, sweet chocolate coconut doughnut, I couldn’t help but smile. It reminded me of the fresh doughnuts my mother brings home every so often from the Amish who live in the community I grew up in. My morning hadn’t started off […]

Bangor Roller Derby makes skating look easy

Members of the Bangor Roller Derby league practice at the Skehan Recreation Center in Hampden. Micky Bedell | BDN

“Ok,” I said to myself, clinging nervously to the side of the bench at the Skehan Recreation Center in Hampden. The neon colored skates on my feet felt unfamiliar. I slowly rose from the bench and lurched forward slightly, wobbling until I regained my balance. “I feel like a newborn giraffe,” I said to no […]

#HeyBangor, did you know you have your own hashtag?

“It is sort of a silly story,” Diana Godin wrote to me in an email recently. Diana moved here from the Midwest in 2004. She started blogging when “the Internet was much smaller, and it felt like you could be friends with everyone.” When she started using Twitter, she treated the social media site like […]