Autumn Gold Weekend Ahead [INFO]

What is your favorite part Ellsworth’s Autumn Gold Festival? Personally, I love the chowder competition, the rides up the Union River and the car show.  And this year there is even more to love starting with Grammy Award-winning pianist Paul Sullivan at the The Grand as well as a simulcast of a London theater production and an international film festival.

Add to that a the Rotary’s Blueberry pancake breakfast, Rubber Ducky race, The crafts and games at the Mill Mall, other great concert opportunities and the Jumbo Jackpot Drawing and you have quite a weekend.  The festivities start on Thursday September 24 and run all weekend..

Thursday:

• Sept. 24, there will be a Senior Expo at the Moore Community Center on State Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• That evening, from 5-7, the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce will hold a Business After Hours event at The First on High Street for Chamber members and their guests. Winners of the decorating contest will be announced that evening.

Friday:

• Autumn Gold golf tournament at the Lucerne Golf Course. Registration starts at 8 a.m., and tee time is at 9.
• A pie sale in front of Ruth Foster’s Store at 95 Main St. from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Proceeds will benefit scholarships and loans for women’s education.
• 3-7 p.m., Maine Home and Design is hosting an architectural design forum titled “Woodlawn 2.0, Redesigned for 21st-century Living” at Woodlawn.
• Mortons Moo’s mascot, Milky Mae, will be at the ice cream shop from 4-7 p.m. Also on a food note, St. Andrew Lutheran church will be putting on a traditional public church supper from 5:30-7 p.m.
• Many stores are having sales throughout the festival
• The Grand will be hosting the Manhattan Shorts Film Festival starting at 7 p.m.

Saturday

• Two breakfast choices. The Trenton Volunteer Fire Department is hosting a firehouse breakfast at its station from 6-10 a.m. The cost is $7 for adults and $3 for kids.
• 7-10 a.m., the Rotary Club of Ellsworth is holding a pancake breakfast at Ellsworth Elementary-Middle School to benefit its wheelchairs in Belize project. The cost is $10 per person.
• The 32nd annual car show kicks off at Home Depot on Myrick Street at 8 a.m. and runs until 1 p.m. Admission is free, and in addition to classic cars and trucks, visitors will get a chance to see the Shriners NASCAR unit and meet former NASCAR Busch North Series champion Andy Santerre, a Cherryfield native.
• 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., family games, crafters, food vendors, cooking contests, rides and more will be offered at the Mill Mall.
• All day is a celebration at Maine Coast Mall at the opposite end of town, where there will be a bounce house, climbing wall, batting cages, ice cream, an eating contest and more.
• 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. is a craft fair and bake sale at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church near the corner of Main and High streets.
• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., scenic boat rides along the Union River will be offered for free at the city’s waterfront. Donations will be accepted.
• The annual Chowderfest takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. under the tent at the Waterfront. Celebrity judges Caitlin Burchill of WABI-TV, cookbook author and mapmaker Jane Crosen and Top Drawer Award winner Doug King of Associated Builders will help select the best chowders from among the nine entries. $5.00 fee.
• From 1-4 p.m., caricatures will be offered at Mortons Moo.
• 1-5 p.m., there will once again be special events and activities taking place in the Acadia Realty parking lot downtown.
• 2 p.m., a rubber ducky race sponsored by the Ellsworth Noontime Rotary Club will take place at the Waterfront. Tickets can be purchased there.
• 3p.m. Drawing for the Jumbo Jackpot — which this year features five different prizes each worth $500 Ticketholders do not need to be present to win.
• A second, separate car show kicks off at 3 p.m. at Advanced Auto on Downeast Highway. The Psychotik Illusions Car Show “Under the Lights” will run until 9 p.m. Registration goes until 7 p.m., and awards will be presented at 9.
• At 4 p.m., Paul Sullivan will perform at The Grand. Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors and $10 for children 12 and under.
• 5:30-8 p.m. there will be a jazz concert featuring Crosswinds with Kevin Campbell at J&B Atlantic’s Gallery 142 on Main Street. There will be a cash bar and appetizers, and reservations are recommended.