Programs & Events

All programs and events are free and open to the public unless otherwise specified.

Featured Events

The Story that Made Mark Twain Famous
Tuesday September 19, 6:30 p.m.

Kristin Krause will share the story behind her book "Last Voyage of the Hornet: The Story that Made Mark Twain Famous". "Last Voyage" tells the true story of Maine native Captain Josiah Mitchell whose clipper ship burned in the Pacific in 1866. The crew were forced to flee in small boats. The Hornet's crew traveled 4,300 miles to safety, a feat unequaled in maritime history. Through it all, Captain Mitchell and two passengers kept daily diaries.
When they reached Hawaii, a down and out young reporter named Samuel Clemens interviewed the crew. His story was telegraphed across the country and around the world launching his career as Mark Twain.

The author has three years experience as a crew member on tall ships. Kristin has sailed Maine windjammers, 12 meter racing yachts, and historical replicas not unlike the Hornet.

How Victorians Got So Fancy
Friday, August 18, 6:00 p.m.

How Victorians Got So Fancy will be the final program in our Embellishments in Victorian Fashion summer exhibit. In this program, guest curator Astrida Shaeffer will focus on the silvery grey 1870s day dress made and owned by Celestia Freeman of Somersworth, New Hampshire. Freeman was the wife of a mill overseer who likely saw this dress as a way of marking her status in the new community she moved to with her husband. Schaeffer will use Freeman's well preserved dress to explore the development of the sewing machine, the importance of pre-made patterns, and the effects of the fashion magazine industry.

EMBELLISHMENTS IN VICTORIAN FASHION
May 13 - August 27, 2017

Sumptuous fabrics, vibrant colors and textures, masses of elaborate trims - all are defining elements of fashionable Victorian women's clothing. Nineteenth-century designers had very definite ideas of what constituted beauty, and these concepts had a widespread impact on art and design. Embellishments in Victorian Fashion focuses on how nineteenth-century aesthetics influenced women's clothing design and construction. It features fifty garments from five institutions in Maine and New Hampshire.
more

Full Calendar of Events with details CLICK HERE