The timing for the first-ever event seemed right, with no Gorham Days festival this year.
By ANN S. KIM Staff Writer July 7, 2008
TASTE WALK OF GORHAM AND PINECREST MUSIC FEST AND ART SHOW
WHEN: Sunday, July 27
TASTE WALK: 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
MUSIC FESTIVAL AND ART SHOW: 1 to 7 p.m.
ADMISSION: For the taste walk, music festival and art show, the charge is $5. Additional charges for food and beverages consumed at the beer garden.
TO KNOW MORE: For more information, call 839-5843 or e-mail Matt@PineCrestMaine.com. More information will be available at www.pinecrestmaine.com
Later this month, people will be strolling around Gorham’s village, sampling locally grown foods, tasting the fares of area restaurants, listening to music and submitting their own baked goods for judging by local chefs.
The events are part of the Taste Walk of Gorham and PineCrest Music Fest and Art Show organized by Matt Mattingly, the owner of PineCrest Bed and Breakfast Inn.
The idea percolated in Mattingly’s mind for a few years. This summer seemed like an especially good time to jump in because there will be no Gorham Days festival this year, he said.
Mattingly hopes to attract several hundred people to the July 27 event. The proceeds will benefit the Baxter Memorial Library, the Gorham Educational Foundation, the Gorham High School Key Club and a new community endowment.
“We were looking for ways to reintroduce everything that happens locally as far as places to eat as well as the farms,” Mattingly said.
Restaurants will provide samples of their signature dishes and walkers will vote on their favorites. The winner will receive the “Golden Spoon Award.” Folks who grow food also will provide samples along the walk.
Walkers can bring a sweet or savory baked item for a contest judged by local chefs. The winning entry will be featured at a local restaurant.
The taste walk is among a growing number of events that cater to locals and also give Gorham a chance to show itself off to visitors, said Donna Reinheimer, president of the Gorham Business and Civic Exchange.
Michel “Sal” Salvaggio Jr. is eager to showcase the specialties of the TreeHouse Cafe, including focaccia sandwiches and clam chowder.
“I’m out to impress people and win the Golden Spoon outright,” said Salvaggio, who owns and operates the restaurant with two of his brothers.
Sebago Brewing Company wants to support local events, particularly when food and beer are part of the program, said Kai Adams, vice president and brewmaster of the company.
“I definitely want to be part of it because it’s local community,” he said.
The music lineup so far includes Ellen Tipper, who performs a bluesy-style jazz, folk rock musician Beth Wood and Ameranouche, an acoustic hot jazz and folk rock trio.
The South Street property has a history of music that stretches back to 1753, Mattingly said.
The original owner, James Gilkey, was a local philanthropist who brought musicians from Boston to perform in Gorham. In the 1800s, Dudley Folsom, a doctor known for his singing abilities, lived there and in the new house that was built in 1825 after a fire burned down the old one. In the 1900s, the building served as a boarding house run by Abner Lowell, and his daughter, Edith, gave piano lessons there.
Gorham Days had its roots in an art festival organized by a local organization. The town’s Recreation Department later coordinated the event and in recent years involved St. Anne’s Catholic Church, which was celebrating the feast of its patron saint around the same time.
Staff Writer Ann S. Kim can be contacted at 791-6383 or at: akim@pressherald.com
Copyright © 2008 Blethen Maine Newspapers
