Snow Pond Center for the Arts - Summer Concert Series

Art & Music Revitalize Augusta
The best Main streets across America
are built by establishing a sense of place;
offering the surrounding residents an
inviting destination to relax and enjoy
cultural events at the very heart of their
community. Creative Placemaking, a plan
developed by the National Endowment
for the Arts, offers support for cities who
wish to implement this very plan. The
Augusta Downtown Alliance, a collaboration
of government officials, property
and business owners, residents, artists
and other interested parties, is looking
to this method to create an arts-centric
downtown in Augusta. This committed
and passionate group of leaders hope
the positive changes taking place, along
with community engagement, will create
a momentum and turn downtown Augusta into a
regional destination.
The shift of big box retail service chains into suburban
areas across the country has left many cities,
like Augusta, with an in-town infrastructure largely
built for a 19th century world. There is a need for
major upgrades if Augusta’s downtown area wants to
compete in the modern marketplace. The revitalization
effort focuses on turning this quaint downtown
into a commercial and arts based district. One of the
many challenges with this initiative is determining
exactly what the broad vision for this 21st century
dynamic and vibrant downtown will look like.
. Augusta’s Waterfront Park provides ample green
space to watch for bald eagles and osprey fishing
for their meals above the Kennebec River. This
park hosts “Waterfront Wednesday;” a free evening
concert series which began on June 17th and runs
through July 29th. Beginning at 6:00 p.m., guests are
invited to bring lawn chairs, blankets and picnics
and enjoy the early evening air next to one of Maine’s
most beautiful rivers.
The Augusta Downtown Alliance is currently
raising money to commission a piece of public art
that honors Augusta’s past and celebrates its future.
Already in place are “Museum in the Streets” panels
placed along the waterfront and throughout the city
center.
Finally, the jewel in the crown, will be the re-
stored Augusta Colonial
Theater which
will serve as a performing
arts center.
The Alliance is working
with the Augusta
Colonial Theater, Inc.
to restore and revitalize
the 1913 silent
movie theater, which
later became a vaudeville
venue and a
“talkie” movie house.
The theater, listed on
the National Register
of Historic Places, has been dark since 1969 and is in
need of a significant, multi-year renovation. Although
it is still in its “rough” state, the Colonial will be hosting
an art installation by three Portland artists, called
“Home/Resilience” starting June 12th for one month.
The Augusta Downtown Alliance is excited about
an expanding partnership with the Snow Pond Center
for the Arts to bring music and arts education to
historic downtown Augusta. Keep your eye on downtown
Augusta…Amazing things are happening here!
. . . Steve Pecukonis,
Executive Director
Augusta Downtown Alliance
Photos by Mark Ellis
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