JULY 3, 2023 – JULY 9, 2023
Ticonic Gallery and Waterville Creates administrative offices will be closed on Tuesday, July 4.
The Ed Harris Box Office and the Maine Film Center will remain open.

JULY FIRST FRIDAY IN DOWNTOWN WATERVILLE

Multiple Locations
Downtown Waterville
Friday, July 7 starting at 5pm

First Fridays celebrate the vibrant creativity in Waterville through a wide array of arts experiences. On the first Friday of every month, visit Main Street in downtown Waterville to meet artists, see performances, listen to live music, eat delicious food, shop at local businesses, enjoy the arts, and come together as a community.

In addition, join us for the first night of the 26th Annual Maine International Film Festival with our Opening Night film Hangdog. Furthermore, join us for the first concert in our FREE concert series Waterville Rocks featuring The Weight Band with Chris Ross starting at 7pm!

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ARTS

THE GREAT STATE OF ILLUSTRATION IN MAINE    
Ticonic Gallery
93 Main St, Waterville
On view through July 16
Hours: Wed–Mon, 11am–7pm
FREE
Curated by the Illustration Institute, this exhibition showcases the past, present, and future of illustration in our state, representing history and contemporary culture through narrative imagery. Featured artists include Barbara Cooney, Lucky Platt, Daniel Minter, Ashley Bryan, Rockwell Kent, Dahlov Ipcar, Bruce Hutchison, Edward Hopper, and many more.

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ART IN THE PARK: WEARABLE ART
Castonguay Square
Corner of Common + Main Streets, Waterville
Thursday, July 6 from 3–5pm
FREE
Waterville Creates has joined forces with the Waterville Public Library and the Colby College Museum of Art to offer dynamic, creative summer programming to provide arts experiences for all.

This week, join the Colby College Museum of Art to create a wearable art project inspired by the artwork of Paula Wilson. We will make wearable art that tells a story of you. Create stamps or use pre-made ones that celebrate the wonderful things in your life and add them to a variety of items. Look to nature, your home, and the objects that make you feel like you.
Please note the new location at Castonguay Square, the little park at the corner of Common and Main Street!

In the event of rain or extreme heat, Art in the Park will be indoors at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center.

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FILM

#MIFF26 OPENING NIGHT FEATURE: HANGDOG

Waterville Opera House
1 Common Street, Waterville
Friday, July 7 at 7pm
$14
This film is eligible for the Youth Arts Access Fund.
Post-film Q&A with filmmakers.

Anxiety-ridden Walt embarks on a desperate quest through Portland, Maine to retrieve his stolen dog, Tony, before his girlfriend, the more straight-laced Wendy, returns from a crucial business trip, or risk losing them both. Walt’s search is a journey as idiosyncratic and detoured as Portland itself and Walt himself, whose forlorn face more befits the “hangdog” name than the dog’s ever could. Director Matt Cascella and writer Jen Cordery have made a film that’s charming, original, and sweet in its own deliberately shaggy way. Hangdog is a real Maine-made discovery.
Sponsored by Barbara and Ted Alfond.
Waterville Creates members are eligible to receive free tickets to MIFF starting at the Director level! Consider becoming a member today!

PURCHASE TICKETS

PERFORMING ARTS

WATERVILLE ROCKS - THE WEIGHT WITH CHRIS ROSS

Head of Falls
Corner of Front + Temple Streets
Waterville
Friday, July 7 at 7pm
Beer Garden opens at 6pm
FREE

Waterville Creates and the Waterville Opera House present Waterville Rocks! Waterville Rocks is a FREE, family-friendly concert series that is held at beautiful Head of Falls in Downtown Waterville each summer. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets or chairs. In the case of rain, the show will be held inside the Waterville Opera House.

Performing original songs as well as classics of The Band, The Weight Band is led by Jim Weider, a 15-year former member of The Band and the Levon Helm Band. The Weight Band originated in 2013 inside the famed Woodstock barn of Levon Helm. Weider was inspired by Helm to carry on the musical legacy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group.

CHRIS ROSS
Ross has spent a decade tucked away on the coast of Maine developing his voice as a writer. Inside the arsenal of tracks he’s penned, one finds dangerous, hard-hitting reflections; stories of love, life and longing. Tinted with an appetite for self-destruction, his writing style is smooth and eloquent while remaining sincere to genuine grit of experience. When his sonorous vocals found affinity with a band, the evolution cultivated a multifaceted, visceral experience for listeners, an auditory landscape much like that of Maine itself: Humble yet dramatic, severe yet sweet, cold and resonant with a nearby fire throwing heat.

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COMMUNITY

DOWNTOWN WATERVILLE FARMERS MARKET
Head of Falls, Waterville
Thursday, July 6 from 2–6pm
The Downtown Waterville Farmers Market offers a wide range of locally produced items. From steak and potatoes to milk and cookies, from bacon and eggs to bread and cheese, the market members will surprise you with the wide range of locally produced items they offer. Online pre-ordering is now available.

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