Pentagoet Inn

Cabin Fever Flowers - Daylily Hybridizing Program

  On Tuesday march 2 at 10:00am - Blue Hill Country Garden owner Don Church will present "Cabin Fever Flowers" and speak about his daylily hybridizing program in the Howard Room of the Blue Hill Public Library.  Featured will be photographs of his American Hemerocallis Society display garden.  Don is also Vice President of the Maine Daylily Society and President of the Blue Hill Garden Club...374-3580

Blue Hill Library - "Great Decisions" - Foriegn Affairs Discussion Series

Great Decisions at Blue Hill Library

Great Decisions, a nation-wide foreign affairs discussion series created by the Foreign Policy Association, is coming for the fifth consecutive year to the Blue Hill Public Library.  Starting March 2nd at 7pm, a series of eight weekly facilitated discussions will be held in the Wilder Room of the Library on Tuesday evenings through April 20th.  The purpose of this very popular series is for people to explore foreighn policy issues in a structured but informal setting.

 

The discussion series is sponsored by Friends of Blue Hill Public Library and will be facilitated by Suzanne and Don Carmichael.  Selected by the Foreign Policy Association, the topics are: Special Envoys, Kenya & R2P, Global Crime, U.S.-China Security Relations, Global Financial Crisis, Russia and its Neighbors, The Persian Gulf, Peace Building and Conflict Resolution.

 

Each participant will be issued a briefing book providing a short background on each topic to be discussed.  Sessions start with a short informal video presentation followed by a lively discussion ending at about 9pm.  All materials are furnished free of charge by the Friends of the Library.  Donations to offset the costs are welcome, but not required to participate.

 

Enrollment begins February 11th and is limited to the first 20 participants.  You may register online using the events calendar at www.bhpl.net or by calling the library at 374-5515.

 

 

 

New Surry Theatre Presents 'A Christmas Carol'

Verteran New Surry Theatre actor Tim Pugliese will present a one man show of Dickens Classic 'A Christmas Carol' at the Blue Hill Town Hall on December 11, 12, 13, 18, 19 & 20.

The show will begin at 7pm on December 11, 12, 18 and19th

On Sunday, December 13 and 20th the show has a 3pm start.

Please visit the New Surry Theatre for more details and other shows.

Bring Castine Home for the Holidays

Pentagöet Gifts Shipped to your Family and Friends 

Our big news is Julie has decided to re-enter the mail order business. She did this for 18 years in her previous business in Philadelphia, the Pink Rose, with mail order cookies and sundry baked goods. We are very excited to present our online store launching Pentagöet Mail Order.

We decided to start with your favorites from Bird Song; from the Pentagöet kitchen, our breakfast granola, oatmeal currant scones, and three favorite cookies. Locally made jams and honey. We've also included the bee glasses and our new mugs. There are several packages to choose from, the "Castine Morning Breakfast Box" and the "Afternoon Tea Box".

We are very excited to present our newest web page launching Pentagöet Mail Order. We hope you'll take a look, www.pentagoet.com/gifts.  You can order online, download an order form to fax, or call us.  We are ready to send our locally produced products from the coast of Maine to you, your family and friends.  What a nice way to surprise someone with a reminder of your time here.

 

Abraham Lincoln Traveling Exhibit in Castine, Maine

November 6-25 at the Castine Historical Society, the Abraham Lincoln: Self-made in America travleing exhibit will be on display 1-4 pm daily or by appointment.  Castine in one of only 40 location across the United States to host this exhibit and 1 of 2 in New England.  This 200th birthday celebration of our 16th president is free of charge and open to the public.

 

The exhibit covers Lincoln's childhood, education, careers, family life, election, Civil War, Emancipation Proclamation and assassination.  The reproduction artifacts on display are all modeled from originals in the Presidential Museum.  Some of the artifacts on display include: books, toys, nameplate from his home, his hat, a presidential campaign banner, an axe, his gloves and other items.

 

For other details please visit the castine site http://site.castinehome.com/Abraham_Lincoln_Exhibit.html

the Historical Society site

http://www.castinehistoricalsociety.org/

or The Wilson Museum

http://wilsonmuseum.org/

Castine, Maine, works well as a homebase for a long weekend trip

Photo Charleen Wiseman
 
The Pentagoet Inn and Castine, Maine are recommended in the New York Times "The Moment" as an off the beaten path destination that is well situated to take in all that the area has to offer.

Any season is a great time to visit Castine Maine and the Pentagoet Inn.  Check out the article at The Moment.

Fall Foliage Festival October 15-18

Join the Pentagoet and the Blue Hill Chamber of Commerce for a weekend of fall foliage and great food.

Join the Blue Hill Peninsula Chamber of Commerce October 15-18, 2009 for an exciting weekend of superb food and drink and enjoy the delicious creations of the award-winning chefs and food producers for which we are famous. Experience the quality of our dynamic food culture with a four-day celebration including farmers’ markets, workshops, wine dinners, wine and cheese tastings, a sparkling wine luncheon, and much more. Wrap up your experience on Sunday, October 18th with a visit to our flagship event “A Taste of the Peninsula”, a showcase tasting event featuring over 40 food vendors, wine purveyors, live music, and local artists. This festival is staged on the scenically spectacular Blue Hill Peninsula located in the heart of Downeast Maine. Spend a restful weekend traveling the lovely country roads. Feed your soul with the sights of crisp fall foliage in its prime and your body with the culinary creations. Cheers!

"Abraham Lincoln: Self-made in America" Comes to Castine

A rare traveling exhibit featuring reproduction artifacts from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois will be in Castine November 2 – 24, 2009. The exhibit will be presented in only 40 locations during a nationwide celebration of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth and is free of charge. Castine is one of only two locations chosen for display in New England. Castine will also host a number of Lincoln and Civil War related events starting August 10th. Please join us in a celebration of the life and times of our 16th president.

“Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America” was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of America’s greatest president by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The “We, the People” program of the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency, provided major financial support for the exhibition and accompanying programs. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation and the History Channel provided additional financial and in-kind support.   

The exhibit covers Lincoln’s childhood, his self-education, his careers as a surveyor and lawyer, his family life, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, the 1860 Presidential election, the Civil War, the 13th Amendment, the Emancipation Proclamation, his assassination, and other important periods and events in his life. The reproduction artifacts on display, all modeled from originals in the Presidential Library and Museum, include: Lincoln’s favorite books; his son Tad’s toy cannon; the nameplate from his Springfield home; his stovepipe hat, which he used like a briefcase to hold important papers; a Presidential campaign banner; an axe that Lincoln used to chop wood; the bloody gloves found in Lincoln’s pocket the night of his assassination; and many other unique and interesting items.

Castine is the birthplace of journalist Noah Brooks, Lincoln’s friend and one of the last people to see the Civil War’s president alive. A town that has long studied and preserved its history, the Castine Historical Society, Wilson Museum, Witherle Memorial Library, Castine Arts Association, Adams School, Castine Men’s Club, Stanley Subaru of Ellsworth, and private benefactors have joined to present a series of programs related to the Lincoln exhibit.  

A Full list of events and details can be viewed at the Castine Home website.

Castine Historical Handworks

 

Castine Historical Handworks celebrates American traditional craftsmen by offering handcrafts and folk art that honor the styles and methods used by craftsmen of the past. This is a unique shop that features folk art, textiles, redware and saltglaze pottery. There is tinware, shorebirds, pewter, jewelry, wood carvings and turnings, coastal photography and more. The shop is less than one block from the Pentagoet Inn on 9 Main St. Castine, Maine. Their phone number is 207-326-4460, please check them out at www.historicalhandworks.com.

Castine, Maine Wilson Museum in "Curious New England"

Castine is the idyllic New England town: scenic, wealthy, tranquil, and well south of the tourist riffraff on Route 1.  You can't imagine anyone here being anything but polite, peaceful, and serene.  Sot it comes as no surprise to walk into the elegant town museum and find it brimming with world savagery: Paleolithic weapons, stone axes, spears, knives, swords, daggers, Indian shamans, porcupine quill combs, an array of American firearms, and umbilical fetishes.  There's even a seventeenth-century helmet worn by one of Oliver Cromwell's soldiers.  The Hearse House nearby stores vehicles for both summer and winter use.  To be fair, the museum also displays more civilized artifacts, such as decorative arts, native crafts, a collection of rocks and minerals, and some wonderful miniature dioramas with historical themes.  It's all the work of John Howard Wilson, an anthropologist and sugar industry heir who, like many of his nineteenth century peers, felt compelled while abroad to acquire souvenirs reflecting his take on human civilization.  Mr. Wilson died in 1936, leaving this beautiful little museum with the dangers and pleasures of the world within its walls.  Still, you can't help feeling a certain relief when stepping back onto the street, as if waking from a bad dream to discover that you're safe in your own bed.  All the brutality stays locked up tight inside glass cases, where it belongs.  That, in the final analysis, may be just what the Castinians like about the place.

Soudings Magazine

The immesely popular boating magazine, Soundings,  made a visit to Castine this summer and reccommended the Pentagoet for lodging and fine dining. 

Please visit our website or the Soundings Magazine website for the full article.

We're Still Cookin'

  The hotel and restaurant at the Pentagoet Inn will be open through October 25th.  Our dinner specials reflect the cool evenings with Braised Lamb Shank and Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Warm Gingerbread with Calvados Sauteed Apples and Caramel.  The hotel is offering off-season rates and warm local cider in the afternoons.

It has been an amazing fall and the foliage is still vibrant with color.  We hope to see you.

Bali Folk Art Sale and Balinese Dinner

As part of their Guest Chef Series the Pentagoet Inn presents Artist Laura Cohn.  On Monday, August 4, 2008 from 2-8 pm the inn will be selling batik artwork and folk art she has collected in Indonesia.  In the evening the restaurant will be serving Balinese specials inspired from Cohn's years living in Bali.  Reservations are suggested for dinner serving from 6-8:30 pm.

Cohn attended College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, graduated in 1988 and considered Mount Desert Island her home for almost eight years.  Many of her landscape paintings are from hikes around the island.

Cohn spent six years living and working in Indonesia and continues to maintain a strong connection to the country, referring to it as her second home.  In Bali she worked at a local university on issues of sustainable tourism.  While in Java she learned the art of batik, a centuries-old artistic precess that uses hot wax and colored dye, primarily to decorate textiles.  Even after living in Bala Cynwyd for nine years, she tries to visit Indonesia every year.  "Whether I am teaching a batik workshop in my studio or participating in an artist-in-residency program in a local school, for example, I bring in Indonesian music, make Indonesian food, show slides of my travels there, and teach some of the language.  Ideally, the students, no matter how old they are, learn mush more than batik.  Their world is expanded by learning about this wonderful, faraway, and exotic country" Cohn states.

She brings a further sense of Indonesia to visitors by exhibiting and selling her batik paintings, all painted in her unique, Impressionistic style.  The sale will feature a large collection of Indonesian handcrafts, fabric and sarongs, exotic masks and carvings, silver and jewelry, puppets, instruments, children's toys, unusual baskets, boxes and bowls, and much more-all reasonably priced.  In keeping with her commitment to Indonesia, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Bali Hati Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to providing life skills and human services to Indonesians.

www.laurafcohn.com

Memorial Day 2008 Weekend Package

Join us this Memorial Day weekend and enjoy a morning stroll through the gorgeous early spring gardens, warm afternoon May breezes on the porch and excellent evening cuisine in our restaurant.  Book for three nights during Memorial Day weekend and the third night is free.  Off-season rates apply for the first two nights.  Hope to see you!

Portland Magazine

Legendary yacht designer Olin Stephens is featured in this short article from Portland Magazine.  This article chronicles the appearance of well-known individuals at bed and breakfasts throughout Maine.  The content of the article is quoted below.

PENTAGOET INN

Nothing can slow down legendary naval architect Olin Stephens. "He's nearly 100 years old, and he's still making million-dollar boats and coming to Maine every summer," marvels Jack Burke, owner of the Pentagoet Inn. "Whenever he comes, he insists on eating in our Passports Pub"-an eclectic room covered ceiling to floor with photographs of 20th-century world leaders, including one of Stephens himself in his younger days, when he designed the 1937Americas-Cup-winning J-sloop Ranger, the pride of Bath Iron Works, with W. Starling Burgess. "He's a statesman, very old school-and, mind you-very humble. Celebrities today may have the bling, but this man can walk into a room and be respected like a god among sailors," Burke says. Stephens will be back in Maine for the July 31 Eggemoggin Reach Regatta.

The Flowers are opening and so is the Pentagoet Inn

  After a record winter of snowfall and ice, Castine has enjoyed a mild and even warm month of April.  Several consecutive days of 60 and 70 degree weather have managed to eliminate all that snowy groundcover and convinced the buds to open.  This unseasonable string of sunny days has also encouraged us to get outside and tend to the gardens and begin our yearly round of painting and "sprucing up".

We're looking forward to seeing return guests from seasons past as well as meeting new friends who we know will come to love the small town atmosphere here in Castine.   Town and area events are already being planned for the summer and as always our bikes are being prepared for leisurely tours of local historical sites.  The porch is also being set up for a relaxing rest in the morning sun although our cats Max and Sky prefer the warm bench in the bay window beneath the turret.

Our chef Gina is also back for another summer to entice us with interesting entrees such as last season's "lollipop lambchops".  We're savoring the aromas wafting from the kitchen already.

The inn and restaurant open for the season on Friday, May 23rd.  We look forward to seeing you all.

Yankee Magazine 2007 Editors' Choice Award

Yankee Magazine Travel Guide to New England

The elm-shaded town of Castine is a choice destination for those hoping to give stress and worry the slip. And the best place for travelers to abandon their cares? The Pentagöet Inn, an 1894 Queen Anne hotel set on the gentle hill that slices through town toward the harbor. The lush organic gardens, handsome porch, and cozy rooms (with extravagant Victorian headboards) are but a prelude to the meals prepared by chef Gina Melita, who favors fresh, local products. The Pentagöet has hosted summer guests for more than a century, and each generation comes looking for more of the same. Happily, they always find it.